A Million Reasons
by J. Peterson
Summary: REWRITING - new version will be posted as "Syllogism" when ready.
1. Letter to My Past

**Disclaimer:**  
Mai HiME and all of its characters belongs to Sunrise. This means that they don't belong to me, and that I don't make an ounce of profit whatsoever from tampering with them. So if anybody does sue, I doubt it'll be worth the effort. But yes, there are a few people in this story that come solely from my own imagination.

**Author's Notes:**  
This picks up pretty much where _Prologue _leaves off. If you haven't read that one, I strongly suggest that you do so unless you want to get very confused later on in the story.

Please also note that this will be a ShizNat fic, which means f/f romance and all that it entails. As such, the standard rules apply. If you're offended by such things, not old enough to read about them or they're just plain illegal where you live, then please save us both the headache and stop reading now. If none of the above apply to you, then please read on and enjoy.

Yes, this part is very short. I felt that it deserved its own chapter, so you'll have to forgive me on that one.

**A Million Reasons; part I**

**Letter to My Past**

* * *

___Dear Natsuki_

___Do you remember the last time we saw each other? It was when you turned down my offer of being your tutor over spring break for the fourth time. Logically, I know how much time has passed since then, but I still feel as if I could walk out of the door, back into the Director's garden and find you there._

___I realize that my sudden departure must have hurt you all those years ago, and it is something that I am deeply sorry for. At the time, however, I felt that separating us in this manner was the best chance for us both to grow as individuals. To get on with our lives, so to speak. You yourself said that you wanted to take some time off and reflect on everything that had happened, although I'm quite certain that you didn't mean for this long. I know that you've made good use of the time, though. You're too stubborn to not have._

___And I must admit that I was unable to completely stay away from you. On that subject, I hope that you will accept my belated congratulations on both your bachelor's degree and your acceptance into graduate school. While I was slightly surprised as to the field of your choice, your interest in the more general area of biomechanics was something I expected to see... something which I believe ties into the memory of a former Child of yours, yes?_

___As I'm sure you know by now, my father's company is opening up a new office in Fuuka. What you probably aren't aware of (especially considering that I only found out myself a few hours ago) is that I've been appointed to go back and run said division. It feels very strange to know that I'll be back in Fuuka in a matter of a few weeks._

___Strange, yes. And yet in a way also exhilarating. It will be odd, I'm certain, to return after all this time, but I still find myself looking forward to it. I'm sure you know that the main reason for that is you._

___One would think that I had grown used not having you in my life after this long, but I still expect to hear Natsuki's voice whenever my phone rings. Does it still sound the same, perhaps? I hope so. I hope you look mostly the same as you did at the Academy, as well. It would certainly make it easier for me to reconcile the image of the girl I have in my mind with the woman that you've no doubt grown into._

___I suppose that's a selfish wish._

___But even if you should have decided to shave your head and gouge out your beautiful eyes, I hope you know that I would still wish to see you again. Will you help me fulfill that wish, Natsuki?_

___Yours,_

___Shizuru_

She set the letter down on her desk and sighed. "Idiot..." The dark head shook lightly. "Of course I will."


	2. Sooner Than You Thought

For disclaimers, please see part one.

**Author's Notes:**  
Utterly un-betaed. Hopefully, this should make up for chapter one being as short as it was. Enjoy.

**A Million Reasons; part II**

**Sooner Than You Thought**

* * *

The ringing of the bell signaled the end of the last class of the day, which for Kuga Natsuki had consisted of 95 minutes in one of Fuuka University's many engineering labs. The dark-haired young woman jotted a few more sentences down on the pad laying on the table beside her tools, – a microscope and a set of implements so tiny they gave the impression that she was hand-making a new, ultra-small microchip – then dated and signed the bottom of the page and folded the notebook shut.

She tuned out the chatter of her fellow students - what few there were – and tucked the notebook and pen under her arm as she made her way out of the sterile lab along with the small group of people. The image of them all shuffling out of the doors, all clad in pristine, white lab coats and wearing clear latex gloves and face masks gave her the almost irresistible urge to baa like a sheep, but she choked back a slightly hysterical snicker and forced it down.

Once the doors shut behind her, she tugged the gloves free from her hands and dumped them into the bin set against a nearby wall just for that purpose, idly rubbing her fingers to free them of the rubbery feeling as best she could until she got the chance to wash them.

The ridiculous little booties that covered her shoes were next to come off and be placed in another bin, before the turn finally came to her face mask. She peeled it off with a sense of relief, and grimaced slightly as the elastic ribbons used to secure it caught in her hair. The fact that it always happened, no matter how much care she took to tie back her hair, didn't make the task of freeing it any less tedious, and by the time she made it back to the changing room to dispose of her lab coat, the rest of her classmates had already left_._

___Oh well._ She ambled over to the metal locker sporting her name and unlocked it before unbuttoning the white coat and letting it slip off her arms and onto the bench behind her. All of the other students had plans for the weekend, most of which she'd been invited along to and declined, since she'd already agreed to spend her free time with her family.

She found herself smiling as she carried the lab coat over to the laundry hamper and shoved it in, then padded over to one of the sinks set into the wall and used the disinfectant soap to thoroughly clean her hands and lower arms. It sure was hell of a gear change compared to her high school days as the Ice-Princess-slash-Lone-Wolf of Fuuka Academy.

Well. The first part of her high school days, anyway. Once the utter disaster that had been the HiME Carnival had been over, there had been very little left to spend her time on, especially since she'd also uncovered the truth about her mother.

So she'd focused her energy on her schooling and the few friends she'd had, like Mai and Mikoto, and slowly but surely, her grades had increased right along with her social circle. The former had been enough to get her into Fuuka University's undergraduate bioinformatics program on a full scholarship, and then on to the graduate program for biomedical engineering.

The scholarship even gave her a set amount of money each month that enabled her to stay out of the dorms and in her own apartment, although she had traded her old one for one closer to both the school itself and the Eastern Hills district. There wasn't much extra money for pure fun, especially considering how much she'd spent on acquiring information in her HiME days, but the scholarship paid the bills and kept her reasonably comfortable. Akiko, of course, was more than willing to help whenever the money ran a little short, but Natsuki hated having to ask, and only did so when she had no other choice.

Of course, her sister was every bit as stubborn as she was, she idly acknowledged as she trotted back to her locker and pulled out the new full-body, leather suit. The material was predominantly black with dark gray piping, and a broad, deep blue stripe running along the outsides of both legs, up along the sides of her waist and the underside of her arms all the way down to her wrists.

That had been the most recent gift, given to her after she'd passed her end of year exams with flying colors. And it even matched the the brand new Ducati that she'd found sitting in her sister's driveway when she'd come over for Christmas the year before, only a scant month after her old bike had been helplessly totaled in an accident involving a careless driver and a traffic light that had been green on her side, dammit. She'd ended up flinging herself off the bike and out of the car's range, and had only bled from landing face-down on the pavement and smashing the visor on her helmet. She'd felt very lucky to walk away from the accident with only a cut above her right eyebrow to show for her trouble.

Well, that and a series of bruises in some of the more imaginative colors of the rainbow, all of which had faded into nothingness soon enough. The only physical reminder she had of her little tumble on the asphalt was a small scar where the broken visor had cut her, and even that was only visible if one was to look really close.

She deftly switched her ordinary clothes for the riding suit, zipping the snug fabric closed before sitting down to store the other garments in her book bag, along with the notes she'd brought back from the lab.

The campus-wide PA system crackled slightly above her head. _"Kuga Natsuki, please report immediately to the main office of the Biology Faculty. Kuga Natsuki."_

She lifted her head enough that she could send the inconspicuous loudspeaker a curious glance. "Huh. Wonder what I did this time," she muttered to herself as she got to her feet and headed for the door. "Can't really be about Lab 17. They haven't even finished rebuilding that yet."

That in mind, she idly reminded herself to keep double-checking what chemicals she mixed before she mixed them, and swung the bag over her shoulder as she pushed the door open.

* * *

The campus was pretty much abandoned at this point, since the majority of the students had either left for the weekend or were spending some extra time studying in the library or in the open areas further away. This meant, of course, that the noise level around her was between low and non-existent, and she startled slightly as the PA system crackled again.

_"__Kuga Natsuki, please report immediately to the main office of the Biology Faculty. Again, that was Kuga Natsuki."_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she grumbled quietly to herself as she mounted the large stone steps that led to the front door of the biology department's administrative building. "I'm coming, already. Hold your damn horses."

She gave the heavy door a tug and stepped into the cool air of the building's lobby. The front desk seemed empty of people, but it was quiet enough inside that she could hear some rustling noises not all that far away.

With a sigh, she approached the smooth wooden desk, her boots squeaking slightly against the polished stone floors as she walked. "Anybody here?" she called out, turning her head to look around curiously.

"Just a moment, please," a male voice replied from a room off to the side. "I'll be right with you." A few more shuffling noises carried into the main room, and then a familiar head of brown hair peeked out. "Ah, there you are, Kuga-san."

Natsuki looked up from where she had folded her hands on the dark wood, and blinked. "Takumi-kun? What are you doing here?"

The young man smiled as he stepped up behind the desk, opposite her, and spread his hands out. "I work here. Part time, that is." He picked up a stack of papers that had been left next to the computer terminal behind the counter, and shuffled them into order with a few brisk, efficient motions. "The faculty can always use a few extra hands, and this way I can help Onee-chan so she won't have to worry about the bills quite so much."

The biker shook her head. "I know you work here, your sister told me a few days ago." She leaned her elbows on the counter as she remembered how she'd had to talk a pretty frantic Mai down, since the redhead had been worried that she wasn't good enough at taking care of her brother. Eventually, she'd ended up convincing her friend that the young man's job was a good thing, as it would both alleviate some of Mai's stress and help Takumi himself feel more like the adult he now was.

"I meant, what are you doing here now?" she clarified. "It's almost four o'clock. Haven't most people left already?"

"Ah, sorry." Takumi set the papers down in a neat pile. "Yes, they have, but as you know, a few of the professors appointed for counselor positions stay behind until 7 or so, in case a student needs to see them. That's the shift I work, since I can't really come in during the day_."_

"Yeah, I heard." Natsuki let a grin shape her lips as she reached a hand out and clapped the young man on the shoulder. "You got into med school, eh? Congratulations."

Takumi ended up leaning slightly to the side from the force of the slap, but he chuckled easily enough. "Thank you, Kuga-san." He glanced down at a pad of paper on the table in front of him, and blinked. "Oh, excuse me. The reason you were called over the PA is that Kamiizumi-sensei wishes to see you. She's waiting for you in her office."

"Hm." The biker nodded. "I figured it was her." Kamiizumi Suzume had been her counselor during the past four years at Fuuka University, and while she hadn't needed to see her much until she was close to finishing her undergraduate studies, from that point forward she'd started meeting with the older woman about once a month.

She also happened to teach a few of Natsuki's classes, now that the biker was working on her master's degree. "I guess I'd better head over there, then." She pushed away from the counter and strode off in the direction of the professor's office. "Don't be too late getting home to Akira-kun, ne?" A glance over her shoulder told her that the young man blushed at her words, and she chuckled softly to herself as she turned a corner and continued down a hallway.

Her merriment faded somewhat as the door swung shut behind her. Even though she'd spent the better part of her teenage years hanging out in smoky bars and fighting monsters from another world, there was still something decidedly creepy about the way the severe faces of the university's founders and past professors stared down at her from the many black and white photographs mounted on the wall. The bright lighting in the hallway didn't help any, either. All it really did was make the pictures seem all the more grim.

"Brr." She shook of the feeling of unease as she came to a halt in front of one of the last doors, and raised her hand to knock with a mild sense of relief.

A soft "Come" could be made out from behind the wooden door, and she swung it open and entered the much warmer lighting of the small office, closing the door again behind her and bowing lightly as she did so. "You wished to see me, Kamiizumi-sensei?"

Across the room was a wide, stainless steel desk in front of a row of tall bookshelves made from the same material. The silvery color meshed well with the faint shade of blue on the walls, as well as the white curtains that hung by the window to the left. Behind the desk sat a distinguished-looking woman with black hair that showed only the faintest hint of gray at the temples, and she looked up as she obviously heard the door close.

"Ah, Kuga-san." Suzume set down the pen she had been holding – red, which left little doubt as to its use – and waved her closer. "I certainly did. Have a seat."

Nodding wordlessly, Natsuki approached the desk, setting her bag onto the pale wooden floor next to one of the visitor's chairs before seating herself on the somewhat comfortable cushion. Then she simply waited respectfully.

The professor pulled out a drawer beside her and seemed to ruffle through a few things inside it before she gave a small noise of of satisfaction. A plain, cardboard folder was pulled loose and placed on the desk into front of her, and the drawer clicked softly as it was slid shut once more. "I assume that you remember the issue I discussed with you at the beginning of last semester?"

"Of course, sensei." The issue in question had been one of Natsuki signing up for offers of internships and work-study programs for her final year of graduate school – something that, if attained, would grant her not only extra income, but also real-life experience with her chosen major, which could prove invaluable once she graduated.

"If you want this..." The older woman tapped the folder with a neatly manicured fingernail. "...it is yours. I advise that you invest in some more appropriate clothing, however, since this company isn't quite as... relaxed.. about their dress code as we are here."

The folder was pushed towards her and, after a glance up and a nod from her teacher, the biker claimed it and curiously flipped it open to the first sheet of paper.

And she almost... almost... started laughing at the absurdity of it all.

"The faculty was recently contacted by the division of Fujino Incorporated that opened downtown just a few weeks ago," Suzume explained. "They feel that their new executive director will need the aid of an assistant once she arrives, and they would, of course, prefer someone who has experience with their area of expertise."

"Of course." Natsuki bit back a sigh as she flipped to the page which listed the company dress code, which she would have to abide by.___ Business formal. Great._ That, she knew, meant skirts, shirts and blazers. And heels.

_Oh well._ She neatly deposited the folder in her bag and resolved to examine it more closely later in the evening. "When?"

"You have an interview with Fujino-san the Monday after next."

___Nine days, then. _"Alright." She nodded, and then paused as her brows furrowed slightly. "Why me, though?"

Her teacher cocked her head just a little bit as she folded her hands on the table in front of her. "You are one of our top students, Kuga-san. Explosive mishaps aside."

Natsuki glanced off to one side as she awkwardly scratched at the beck of her neck. "Well... it's not like I did it on purpose."

All that had really happened was that she'd misread a label during an advanced chemistry class that she'd taken for some extra credit, and somehow managed to create a very unstable, but thankfully slowly reacting mix. Next thing she knew, the teacher had hurriedly rushed the entire class out of the lab and as far away as possible.

The professor's lips quirked into the smallest of smiles. "Kuga-san, whether you did it on purpose or by accident, the fact remains that all that was left intact in that room were the walls."

The dark head on the other side of the desk ducked slightly. "I know." There was a lengthy pause. "Have they figured out the total repair costs yet?"

"Yes." The older woman slid a piece of paper across the table, and watched her student blanch as she looked at the figure written on it. "However..." She tugged the paper back and held it up. "It seems that the scholarship you received during your time at Fuuka Academy also included a rather hefty sum to be used on any property damages."

Natsuki fought the urge to slump down in her seat in relief. ___Oh, I owe you such a favor, Kazehana-san. Where ever the hell you are, thank you._

"While I don't much care to know why such a large amount was set aside for that particular eventuality, it was transferred here when you first enrolled, and will cover the expenses," the woman went on. "Actually, there will still be some funds left over." A slender eyebrow quirked. "I'm sure you understand, however, that this in no way means that you should strain yourself for a repeat performance."

"Yes, Kamiizumi-sensei." Sensing that she was being dismissed, Natsuki rose from her seat and bowed before picking her bag up and heading for the door.

"And Kuga-san?"

She paused halfway through the door. "Yeah?"

The professor sent her a dry glance. "Do try to not blow up any more labs. Here or downtown, hm?"

A sigh. "Yes, sensei."

She closed the door behind her and regarded the silent hallway for a moment. Then she clapped a hand over her eyes. "Aw, man." She shook her head as she started the trek to the parking lot. "I sure hope I can learn to walk in heels in a week."

* * *

"Ojou-sama?"

She paused as she was about to enter her new office, and half-turned to see her secretary approaching, a thin folder held in her hands. "Yes, Yamuri-han?"

"If you would please look these over." The slender, middle aged woman handed her the folder with a light bow. "They are the details on the young woman who has been chosen as your temporary assistant."

"Assistant?" The executive claimed the folder with a slight tilt of her head, but made no move to examine the files within.

"Yes. Since ojou-sama was so suddenly appointed here, there was little time to find a suitable candidate without outside assistance," Yamuri Kina explained hastily. "Fuuka University has recommended one of its top students in the field of biotechnology. She will be meeting with you today for an interview. If ojou-sama does not approve, someone else will be found to replace her as soon as possible."

"I see." Shizuru shook her head slightly and studied the front of the folder, which only had the words 'Assistant details' written meticulously on the front of it, and thus offered little clue about its further contents. "It seems quite harsh that a young woman should be pulled so suddenly away from her classes simply because of me."

"Ah..." Kina blinked once in surprise. Had her new boss not read any of the documents forwarded to her back in Kyoto? They had, she knew, sent her intricate explanations of the agreement with the university, and promised her to deliver the details on the chosen candidate once the executive arrived in Fuuka herself.

"It's been designed much like a work-study program," she explained, taking care to keep the slight befuddlement out of her voice. "She will be here three days of the week, and remain in classes for the rest."

"Hm." The CEO nodded once. "And for how long?"

"The entirety of her final year, should you find her satisfactory, ojou-sama."

"Ah. Ookini, Yamuri-han." She turned back around and opened the door to her office, then paused once more. "When will she be arriving?"

"In two hours."

"Ookini." She took a few steps forward and quietly closed the door behind her.

The silence was the first thing she noticed. In spite of the early morning stillness in her outer office, she should still be able to hear something from the outside, like the phone ringing, but there wasn't even a single beep.

___Hm. Soundproofed. I think I like that. _She let a small smile shape her lips as she remained by the door for a few seconds, studying her new domain.

The room was large and rectangular, with the longer sides containing the door she now stood by and the outer wall across from it, which seemed to consist entirely of windows. In front of said windows stood a wide desk and a comfortable-looking chair, both facing the door, and the wall to her left had a large conference table situated by it, complete with eight chairs and a flat-screen TV mounted above it. Against the rightmost wall there were three wide, leather couches placed catty-corner to each other, with a low table between them.

The walls in the office had been painted in a color that was so light a gray that it almost passed for white, while the carpet and furniture was done in complimentary shades of light brown. The combination managed to lend the room in its entirety an air of both cool professionalism and welcoming warmth – efficient, yet open.

___And utterly Western._ Shizuru shook her head amusedly as she approached her desk, circled around it and sat down in the leather chair behind it. It certainly was a far cry from the dorms at Kyoto University, where she'd spent the better part of the past six years of her life. But as the company was expanding to other countries, her father had felt it important that they try to somewhat break away from the image of 'stodgy, Japanese traditionalism' and try to embrace other, more widely familiar cultures.

She'd laughed when he'd told her of this decision. Fujino Hiraku was the most traditional man she'd ever known. But he'd laughed right along with her and appreciated the irony of it all, so that had been okay.

And after that talk... Shizuru sighed and leaned back in her chair. After that talk, she'd been thrown headfirst into the new responsibility of running a division. One whose focus was on something that she knew very little about. Her studies in Kyoto had leaned far more towards the humane sciences like communication and languages. Biotechnology wasn't exactly a subject she was familiar with, apart from what she'd learned about it during the precious little time she'd had between being informed of her placement and actually arriving.

It wasn't a very comfortable sensation to feel so out of her element, but she supposed that she would just have to improvise until she learned and hope for the best.

_"Sink or swim, Shi-chin," her father had told her as she'd once more left Kyoto for Fuuka. "You've grown your own wings over the past years. Now it's time to test their strength."_

She stole another glance at the file in her hand. Perhaps having an assistant who actually had a clue about the division's main focus wasn't such a bad idea.

She dropped the file into her inbox, booted up her new computer, and got to work.

* * *

___Damn, that's a big building._ Natsuki had to tilt her head back in order to see the top of the structure as she heard the cab pull away from the curb behind her. While she would have far preferred to have ridden her bike, both her counselor and her sister had drilled the importance of first impressions into her head, and arriving in her leathers only to change in one of the company washrooms probably wouldn't have given off a very good one.

So she'd ended up splurging on cab fare, since she already owed her family enough money for the suits Akiko had taken her shopping for. She had ended up with five different sets in varying colors, along with an almost disturbing amount of shirts and shoes to match. She'd lost the argument over the black leather briefcase, however, and had ended up having to accept it as a gift.

Really, her sister had enjoyed herself far too much during the past week.___ How To Walk In Heels 101, my ass__, s_he mused idly as she gave the lapels of her suit jacket a tug to settle the fabric properly into place. Today's chosen set consisted of a figure-sewn blazer in a dark shade of blue with a matching, slim skirt, a white shirt, sheer hose and and pair of dark shoes with heels that thankfully weren't all that high.

She spotted her own reflection in the massive, mirrored glass panes that covered the entire outside of the building as she approached the large double doors, and fought the urge to pull a face at herself. ___Ugh. I sure look stuffy like this._

She was pleased to notice, however, that she was now walking as elegantly as her sister did in those damned contraptions. Her first few attempts had resulted in some rather glorious falls, along with much arm-waving and general wobbling, which, to her chagrin, in turn had caused much amusement for her brother in law. Morio had grown sadly immune to the Kuga Death Glare, and since Kaguya had also been present at the lessons, she hadn't been able to properly threaten him into leaving.

It wasn't easy to intimidate someone while calling them a 'son of a biscuit', after all.

She sighed and gripped the handle of the briefcase a little tighter as she pushed one of the doors open.

The first thing that hit her as she entered the lobby of Fujino incorporated was...___ Money._The space fairly reeked of it, and she looked around curiously as she took in the black marble floors and the rich, wooden walls. Aside from the gentle babbling of the massive fountain in the middle of the large room, she could also hear the sound of several pairs of feet, some close, some far away.

She found out why once she took a few steps further inside.___ Jesus__. _She felt several curious sets of eyes rest on her as she weaved her way through a throng of hurriedly moving people, and made sure to only send a brief glance up on her way to the security desk off to her right-hand side. ___A fucking atrium?!_

Indeed, it seemed as if the entire center of the building had been left open all the way up to the large skylight in the roof, almost thirty stories above her. Walkways with what appeared to be waist-high railings circled the open space at every floor, allowing the apparent sea of humanity to keep flowing effortlessly.

She shook her head in bemusement as she reached the security desk, where a uniformed guard sent her a friendly smile. "Excuse me, my name is Kuga Natsuki. I have an appointment with Fujino Shizuru?"

The guard picked up a clipboard from his station and leafed through a few pages on it before glancing up at her and smiling. "Of course, Kuga-san." He indicated that she should wait for a minute, and pulled a plastic card from a drawer. The card was inserted into a slot in a small device on a table behind him, and she watched him type something into the terminal next to it as she waited.

Then the machine beeped and spat the card back out, and the man slid it into a black plastic holder, onto which an oddly shaped snaphook had been attached. "There you go, Kuga-san." He pulled the card and the hook apart to show the black piece of string that allowed her to hold up the card even after clipping it to something, and released the plastic again, making the string retract back into the metal with a click before handing the whole deal over to her. "That'll take you upstairs for today. We can make a more permanent one for you once you've been officially hired."

She accepted the card and studied it, seeing the word 'visitor' printed on the white plastic in plain, black lettering. "Thanks." She deftly clipped it onto one of the belt loops in her skirt. "Could you tell me exactly where 'upstairs' is?"

He grinned. "28th floor. Take those elevators over there," he nodded to the other side of the room, where a series of said machines were seeing what seemed to be constant use. "... first hallway on your left, then down to the last door."

"Thanks." She gave him a nod before turning and striding off towards the elevators, and felt oddly self-conscious as she stepped into an almost full one and pressed the button for the top floor.

That action earned her more curious glances from her fellow passengers, and she bit back a sigh and pointedly kept her gaze on her own reflection in the metal doors in front of her. Which only made her want to sigh some more as she was reminded of the fact that she was wearing... ugh... makeup. Not much, to be sure, just a hint of blush and the faintest trace of eyeshadow – 'to add some color to your face', Akiko had said.

___Yeah, yeah._ She stepped aside as the cart stopped to let some people off.___ First impressions are the most important ones. Blah blah blah. _Of course, the person she was meeting already knew what she looked like, but then again, Akiko didn't know that.

And it had been seven years, so... At least the surprise on Shizuru's face should be worth the effort.

The thought made her smirk to herself as she exited the cart and stepped onto the surprisingly silent floor. The hallway the guard had mentioned was easy enough to spot, and she briefly entertained the idea of kicking off her shoes and sliding down the length of the smoothly polished, wooden flooring.

Only briefly, though, as it really wasn't all that long of a hallway, and that had been about all the time it took for her to reach the end of it.

To her surprise, there was no handle on the door in question, and she spent a few seconds studying it before noticing a small, electrical box with a tiny red light in it set just to the right of the frame. "Hm." She fingered the card she'd been given. "I wonder..." Experimentally, she tugged the plastic up higher and examined it, seeing a very slight bulge in one of the corners that would about fit the size of one of the more recent security chips.

She cocked her head and held the card up in front of the box, which obligingly beeped and switched its light to green as the door swung inwards.

___Nifty. _She released the card and let it snap back into place against her thigh as she stepped inside. As soon as she'd cleared the door's reach, the same swung shut behind her, startling her a little.

"May I help you?"

Natsuki blinked and turned her head back around, spotting a slender, middle-aged woman with dark hair rising from behind a desk placed next to another set of double doors. "Ah... yes." She shook off the last bit of surprise and approached the desk. "I have an appointment with Sh... with Fujino-san at nine."

"Ah," the woman bowed in greeting and smiled. "Kuga-san, correct?"

"Yes." She clasped both her hands around the handle of the briefcase and sketched a return bow. "That would be me."

"Just a moment, I'll inform her that you're here." The woman, whom she assumed to be Shizuru's secretary, sat back down at her desk and pressed a button on the intercom set next to her phone. "Ojou-sama?"

There was a slight wait before they heard a reply. _"Yes, Yamuri-han?"_

She glanced down at the small speaker and felt her heart pound a little harder as she heard the familiar voice. ___I wonder if she knows that it's me?_

"The graduate student from Fuuka University is here."

This time, the pause lasted a few seconds. _"Ookini, Yamuri-han. Please send her in."_

The secretary released the button and nodded to her. "Go on in, Kuga-san."

"Thanks." She shifted her hold on the briefcase a little and squared her shoulders, then pushed down the handle on one of the double doors and pushed it open.

Inside the large inner office, a slim, chestnut-haired woman was standing up behind her desk, but abruptly fell back into her chair out of sheer surprise. "Natsuki?"

She fought back a chuckle as she watched the crimson eyes widen in shock. ___ Nope, she had no idea it was me. _"Hey, Shizuru. Long time no see."

* * *

**Japanese used in this chapter:**

_(-)sensei_  
Honorific/form of address used for teachers, among others.

_-han/-chin_  
-san/-chan in Kyoto dialect

_Ookini_  
'Thank you' in Kyoto dialect


	3. There, But For the Grace of God

For disclaimers, please see part one.

**Author's Notes:**  
Wow, that was a pretty decent stretch between updates. My apologies. The reasons were a mix of writer's block, technical issues (BSOD sucks) and medical issues. Who gets silly from antibiotics, anyway? Apart from me, that is. Blah. None of those have been resolved yet, by the way. Just a warning.

Anyway, update! Thanks for waiting around for it, and enjoy.

**A Million Reasons; part III**

There, But For the Grace of God...

* * *

_"__Ojou-sama?"_

The sound of her secretary's voice abruptly tore her from the information displayed on the monitor in front of her, and she blinked as she turned her gaze to the small intercom system set next to her phone, from where the voice had originated.

She exhaled and pressed a button on the device. "Yes, Yamuri-han?"

_"__The graduate student from Fuuka University is here."_

___So soon?_ She cast a glance at the digital clock in the lower corner of her screen, and felt one of her eyebrows arc slightly in surprise at the time displayed. Indeed, it seemed that 9 AM had rolled around quite a bit faster than she had expected.

Her eyes shifted to regard the folder still sitting neatly in her inbox.

Quite a bit faster, yes. Enough that she had yet to even open the file, and thus was sorely unprepared for the meeting.

___Ara._

She contemplated pleading a lack of time for the interview at the moment, her gaze darting around the silent office as her mind worried at the problem. Certainly, it wasn't a lie. She had hundreds of files to read through, and matters that required her attention had somehow managed to pile up even though the division had been open little more than a month.

But that really wouldn't be fair to whomever was in the outside office with Yamuri-han, would it? And now would be the most opportune time to take care of the interview, rather than wait and have to set aside phone calls as well as e-mails once the office accustomed to her presence.

Besides, improvisation was something she had always excelled at.

She pressed the button again. "Ookini, Yamuri-han. Please send her in."

The handle on one of the doors was pushed downwards, and she placed her palms against the top of her desk, beginning to rise from her seat. The motion made her neck bend slightly, enough that all she initially could see of the figure entering her office was their legs.

Long, slender legs that moved with a strong, confident and yet curiously indolent stride.

Something pricked at the back of her mind, and made her pause halfway through rising_. ____I know that walk._

The door closed with a soft snick, and she slowly lifted her head so that her eyes could see the picture that her mind had already painted. The confirmation, however, still hit her hard.

___My word..._ she thought as she took in the sight of the young woman standing before her. She felt slightly dizzy, and only vaguely registered the thump as she fell back into her seat in a decidedly ungraceful manner. "Natsuki?"

She knew that her surprise was showing on her face as she saw a glint of humor appear in the other woman's eyes. "Hey, Shizuru. Long time no see."

"Indeed," she somehow managed to agree through the haze that had suddenly clouded her mind. Part of it stemmed from the shock of it all, she dimly recognized. While she had hoped to see Natsuki again upon her return to Fuuka, she hadn't expected her old friend to waltz back into her life so... suddenly. Unexpectedly.

___Beautifully._

It was a little disconcerting, she allowed as she continued to stare unabashedly at the professional-looking woman in front of her, how it felt as if Natsuki had unerringly reclaimed her place in the executive's life just by entering the room. How gazing into those oh-so-familiar green eyes again made everything just... click. As if she'd never left in the first place.

Well, mostly. In the past it had usually been Natsuki who was the one left speechless, while Shizuru herself had been the one to just smile amusedly at whatever the situation was. Their positions were reversed at the moment, but she couldn't say that she minded all that much.

___I certainly have missed that smile._

That too, had changed, she idly noted. It was more open that she remembered it, somehow. More... free, perhaps? More easily earned?

She liked that idea, and it made her smile back.

Fidgeting just slightly under the scrutiny, Natsuki raised an eyebrow and gestured to one of the available chairs in front of the desk. "Mind if I siddown?"

"Ah." A blink. "Of course. Please..." She rose from her seat and indicated the chairs in much the same way that the younger woman had done. "Forgive me. Surprise seems to have set aside my manners at the moment."

A snort at that remark, while Natsuki strode closer and seated herself. "Since when was surprise the only cause for that?" she asked as she settled her briefcase next to the chair and leaned back a little. "Your manners flew right out the window back at the Academy, too, if I remember correctly. At least where I was concerned."

Shizuru tilted her head a little as she sat back down.___Confidence_, her mind chittered at her. That was probably the biggest difference between the teenager she had left behind and the woman who now stood – or sat, rather – in front of her. There was a sense of comfortable self-awareness about the younger woman, a distinct kind of calm that had replaced the constant restlessness that the executive remembered so well.

She watched Natsuki fidget a little more under her steady gaze, and bit back a smile.___ Perhaps that restlessness isn't completely gone._

So there were still some parts of Natsuki that she knew. That was reassuring in the extreme to know. She also knew, however, that the woman sitting across from her was a stranger in many ways – an adult in her own right who had come to be that way through experiences that Shizuru herself knew very little of.

She seems happy, though, she privately considered as she watched the green eyes watch her. More whole, perhaps? "No, surprise wasn't the only cause," she then said, and let a small smile show. "Natsuki seems to simply be a bad influence on me, now as well as then."

Another snort, although this one was a bit more amused. "Idiot."

She chuckled.___ Ah, Natsuki... how I have missed you. Missed this. _"Ara?" she said out loud, letting her eyes widen slightly while she touched a single fingertip to her cheek. "Is that any way to address the person you wish to end up working for?"

The green eyes narrowed slightly at the tease, and she swore that she could hear a soft growl issue from the younger woman's throat. "Wish nothing," Natsuki said and sat up a little straighter. "I'm here for two reasons. One, the university felt that I was the best choice for the job, and two, I wanted to see what happened to you."

She then leaned back once more and sighed, dropping her gaze to her lap. "I wanted to see what had happened to my best friend."

Shizuru looked down as well, and picked up a pen for her hands to play with. She hadn't expected that. Hadn't expected such an open display of vulnerability from someone who used to go to great lengths to hide the fact that she even had any.

Yes, Natsuki was definitely a different person in many ways.

"I told you why I left."

"Yes."

A pause. "You feel that I was wrong to do so."

Another pause, this one filled by the soft sound of cloth shifting against cloth, and she chanced a glance across the table to see her old friend fold her arms. "Actually, no. I don't."

She blinked, surprised and knocked off stride for the fourth time in as many minutes. "Excuse me?"

Natsuki's lips twitched, just a little. "I don't think you were wrong to leave," she repeated. "We both needed that... to grow up by ourselves and not live in each other's back pockets all the time. No, your plan was sound enough." She paused, and sent the executive a dry glance. "The execution of it, however, left something to be desired."

She wasn't entirely sure if the younger woman was referring to her abrupt and unannounced departure, or the fact that she hadn't attempted to stay in touch through the past seven years. Perhaps, she reasoned, it was both. She clearly had some fences to mend in that aspect, but she had at least expected that much.

"True enough," she admitted, inclining her head slightly in agreement. "But..." She paused, trying to gather her thoughts. "Natsuki is, as I said, a bad influence. Had I told you that I was leaving, or contacted you later, I would have ended up returning whether you asked me to or not."

"Hm." The younger woman seemed to digest this information. "I wouldn't have asked, you know. Not back then."

"I know."

"Now, though..."

She cleared her throat softly and waited for the green gaze to meet her own, then shook her head. "Now... you don't need to ask. I'm here to run this division, and that's not going to change in the foreseeable future."

"Uhn." A nod of apparent satisfaction. "Which brings us back to what I'm here for."

Ah, yes. "The interview." Shizuru rested her elbows on the desk and cocked her head. "Do you really wish to go through with it? I'd hire you on the spot without it, as I hope you know."

A slender, dark eyebrow quirked. "If you think I'm so dumb as to not know that, I might have to be insulted." Natsuki smiled, just a little. "But if it's all the same to you, I'd really rather get the job for being a worthy candidate, and not for being an old friend of yours."

That, the executive considered, was certainly fair enough. Any assistant of hers would be under close scrutiny for a good, long while, and Natsuki knowing that she had gotten the job for her qualifications rather than their friendship would go a long way towards making her feel comfortable, rather than conspicuous.

"Very well." She reached over and picked up the folder from earlier. "Then let us begin, shall we?" The folder was flipped open, and one particular paragraph caught her eye immediately. "Ara? Natsuki blew up a chemistry lab?"

The woman on the other side of the desk just groaned.

* * *

"Now, as to what your duties would be," Shizuru was saying some indeterminate amount of time later, as she leaned back in her seat and rested her chin on top of her loosely interlaced fingers. "I'm afraid that will vary quite a bit depending on the day of the week, phase of the moon..." Her lips quirked. "... the precipitation in Tokyo and Miami respectively, that sort of thing."

"Hm." Natsuki nodded gravely, although her eyes did carry a slight twinkle of amusement. "So you don't really know either, huh?"

"Haven't the faintest idea, no," the older woman cheerfully agreed. "This will be as much of a new experience to me as it will to Natsuki."

"Wonderful." Natsuki shifted slightly in her chair and cast a glance at the passing clouds beyond the large windows. A thought occurred to her, and she leaned slightly to one side in order to remove a folder from her briefcase.

In doing so, she ended up catching the sleeve of her blazer on the chair's armrest, and scowled at Shizuru as the older woman chuckled in amusement. "I don't suppose that this... getup... is one of those things that won't be necessary on a daily basis?"

"I'm afraid not." The executive shook her head. "Business formal is the only type of accepted clothing during normal hours. Should you be here after hours, however, you can dress as you like." A pause. "Within reason."

Natsuki glanced up as she settled the folder in her lap and fished her glasses from her check pocket. "Something tells me that there's a story behind that statement," she muttered, almost as if to herself, and settled the slim, cat's eye frames on top of the file expectantly.

Shizuru gave the spectacles a mildly curious look, but said nothing on that particular subject. "Well, one of our former department managers up in Kyoto was battling a weight problem, and had taken to working out in his office after hours." She reached out and gave her mouse a jostle to bring her screen back to life. "Which would all have been fine with the company if one of his friends hadn't told him that you lost more weight by exercising in the nude."

The younger woman blinked. Then blinked again. "Wha... buh..."

"The cleaning staff didn't appreciate walking in to see him doing aerobics in that state."

"I... I..." Natsuki ran a hand over her face and shook her head. "I guess that explains the 'former' part of the story."

"Mm hmm."

It was an outrageously absurd thought, the biker privately considered. But the mental image of the poor guy being caught with his pants so literally down was certainly amusing, and she snickered briefly. "Well, I'll make sure not to repeat his mistake."

Shizuru smirked. "Ara, ara... and here I was looking forward to playing the cleaning staff to Natsuki's manager."

Complete silence. And then, "Sh-Shizuru!"

The executive laughed. "I certainly have missed you, Natsuki." She pointed the end of a pen at the scowling woman. "It's been far too long since I last saw you turn that shade of red."

"Shut up." Natsuki scowled a little deeper, then sighed and slipped her glasses into place as she lowered her gaze to the file in her hands and willed the blood to recede from her face. "We're supposed to be professionals at the moment. Let's act like it."

The older woman sighed in a very woebegone way as she got up and stepped around the desk, perching on the edge of it just in front of her old friend. "Natsuki has no sense of humor," she remarked sadly.

Natsuki pointedly ignored the pantyhose-clad legs in front of her and kept her attention on the paper in front of her, although the words didn't seem to be making a whole lot of sense at the moment.

Then two fingers touched just below her chin, and she froze in surprise as she felt her face being gently lifted. Warily, she glanced up, and found her gaze nothing short of captured by a set of eyes the color of flawless rubies. Shizuru was studying her intently, and she could feel another blush coming on at the scrutiny.___ Oh, hellinahandbasket... What is it about that woman that turns me into a teenager all over again?_

"Hm." Shizuru tilted her head pensively and stroked the tips of her fingers over Natsuki's chin in an almost absentminded touch. "Natsuki has acquired glasses."

The almost painful obviousness of that sentence managed to clear the biker's head, and she quirked an eyebrow in response as she pulled her face away from that uncomfortably soft hand. "How incredibly astute of you to notice," she grumbled sarcastically. "Next you'll be telling me that the sky is blue."

"Ara, if Natsuki didn't know that, then perhaps it's a good thing she's still in school," the executive teased. "And with her new glasses, she looks every bit the good little schoolgirl, too." One hand came up to ruffle the long, dark hair, even as she watched Natsuki steam. "So cute!"

And that was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. "Will you stop that?!" Natsuki shoved the ruffling hand away and rose to her feet with an angry snarl on her face, the folder catapulting off her lap and sending loose sheets of paper swishing through the air. "I'm not a damn kid anymore, alright?"

She glared at the older woman as Shizuru took a surprised step back. The astounded expression on the executive's face would - at one time - have made her smile, but now it just irked her, since it meant that Shizuru honestly hadn't expected her to get upset.

The papers settled on the carpeting around them, and in the sudden, loaded silence of the room, even the soft sounds of their impact seemed loud.

"Ugh, whatever." Natsuki slid off her glasses and pocketed them as she rubbed her forehead and fought down a sting of supreme disappointment. "I came here for a job interview, but obviously that's not going anywhere." She turned on her heel, snatched up her briefcase and strode off towards the door, her posture rigid and her brows lowered in a scowl. "Gimme a call when you're actually willing to go through with this."

"Natsuki..."

Another step.

"Natsuki."

Two more, and she was almost at the door.

"Kuga-han!"

She paused with one hand resting on the door handle, and turned her head. Shizuru had settled back down behind her desk, where she now gestured to one of her visitor's chairs. The one she had just vacated. "Please, have a seat."

She wanted to leave. She really, truly wanted to just open that door, walk out and slam it behind her as hard as she possibly could. Leave the building and let this damn woman deal with the fact that she was an adult now. And that she didn't appreciate being treated as some stupid, silly kid in way over her head.

But she had missed Shizuru. Damn it all to hell and back, she had missed the older woman as if it was a part of herself that had vanished. And... she chanced a looked into the crimson eyes on the other side of the desk, where she found traces of sorrow, pain and even a bit of fear. And Shizuru had missed her too, it seemed.

So what was she going to do, she wondered. Walk out that door and let those years of hoping just... go poof? Leave and lose them both what might just be the only chance they'd have at rebuilding their friendship? All because of her temper?

There probably would be an odd justification in doing that... in leaving Shizuru in much the same way that Shizuru had left her back in high school. But if life had taught her one thing, it was that two wrongs never made a right.

She brushed a sheet of paper off of the seat before sitting down and folding her arms over her chest. Shizuru looked almost pathetically relived, she noted, and for a split-second, it almost seemed as if her eyes were glistening.

_Well,_ she thought with wry humor. _There, but for the grace of God, I guess._

Natsuki crossed her legs at the knees and sent a glower across the table. "So talk."


	4. Weathering the Storm

For disclaimers, please see part I.

**Author's Nothes:**  
I've been asked a few times if this story is going to be an angsty one, and no, that's certainly not where I intend for it to go. My plan for this fanfic is basically for it to be an old-fashioned 'getting the girls together' romance. For now, I'm focusing on them redeveloping their friendship and hopefully making the way that happens seem believeable to you readers.

But since this _is_ Shizuru "The Mask" Fujino and Natsuki "Not Too Good With The Mushy" Kuga we're talking about, I can't say that there won't be a few intermittent bursts of angst along the way. I will, however, try to keep it to a minimum. I hope you'll enjoy and continue reading regardless.

Thanks for sticking around this far.

**A Million Reasons; part IV**

Weathering the Storm

* * *

_"__How are you settling in?"_

"Well, the first week was the hardest." Natsuki gave her scroll wheel a few lazy flicks and directed her voice towards the phone on her desk. "Fujino-san did give me some idea of what to expect, but you don't really know until you actually try it, y'know?"

_"__Indeed." _There was a note of idle bemusement in Akiko's voice.___ "But you're starting to find your way around?"_

"Yeah, I guess so." Not that it had been easy. So far, it had been all she could do to keep up with the whirlwind of activity at the office, not to mention take care of her schoolwork on the side. She hadn't had much, if any, use for her knowledge of biotechnology yet, but had instead tried to find her footing in this odd new world of business relationships, deals, negotiations and public perception.

But she was getting better at it. "Be glad you get to run around the labs downstairs, Nee-chan," she told her sister wryly. "All the stilted politeness up here is making my head hurt."

A light, familiar laugh rang out from the direction of the phone's speaker. _"Poor Imouto,"_ the older woman's voice teased. ___"Well, perhaps you should come over for dinner tonight, then. Both my daughter and my husband are pouting and missing their playmate, and I can pretty much guarantee that the only stilted politeness you'll get from us will be of the sarcastic kind."_

"Sounds good to me," she chuckled. "I miss them, too." Especially since the tornado that had made up the last few weeks of her life had left her very little time to spend with her family. "I'll be over once I've gone home to change."

_"__You have clothes at our house,"_ Akiko noted dryly.___ "Just come straight over. We certainly wouldn't mind."_

"You're trying to sucker me into another cooking lesson, huh?"

_"__Basically."_

Natsuki considered the idea, and shrugged. "Alright, sure. Lucky for you that I don't mind your lessons."

_"__More like lucky for your stomach,"_ came the mischievous reply.

She blew a raspberry in the general direction of the phone.

_"__Good to know that you're listening to your inner child."_ To say that her older sister sounded amused would be an understatement. ___"See you tonight, Natsuki."_

"Yup." There was a small click as the call disconnected, and she rested her chin in the palm of her hand as she turned her attention back to the document on the screen in front of her. "See you then," she muttered to the empty room, and lost herself in her work once more.

"Kuga-san?"

"Hm?" She looked up from behind the monitor and studied the woman in the now open door to the outer office that she shared with the CEO. "Yes, Yamuri-san?"

Shizuru's secretary crossed over to her and handed her a small stack of papers, neatly stapled together in one corner. "Ojou-sama ask that you review these," she explained. "She's meeting with the representatives from Naromi Tech at two, and would like your input before then."

Natsuki took the file and leafed through it, skimming over the contents. Five hours, lunch and transit time included, was very little notice to give her for a potential contract of that size, but then again, that meeting wasn't supposed to have taken place for another two weeks. "They moved it up, huh?"

"Yes." Kina sighed and shook her head. "Which means that ojou-sama's schedule for today has been blown clear out of the water."

The young woman chuckled wryly. That had pretty much been par for the course during the past few weeks. Not only was the building and the division itself brand new, but so was the woman who was responsible for it. And everyone and their grandmother wanted some of her time, it seemed. "Do you get paid enough to deal with all this chaos, Yamuri-san?"

After she'd been officially hired, it had taken a few days of her and Kina gingerly feeling each other out, but she felt confident now that the two of them had decided to like each other.

The secretary gave her a dry look. "Not nearly, Kuga-san. But I'm hoping it will calm down within the next couple of months."

"You're an optimist, aren't you?"

"Helplessly so." Kina chuckled and gave a little wave as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Natsuki leaned back in her chair and folded her arms, letting her gaze flit about idly as she chewed her lower lip. Her office wasn't as large as Shizuru's by any stretch of the imagination, but it was still quite spacious. Probably more than need be, since it was highly unlikely that she'd need, say, the conference table that sat neatly on the carpet a few feet off to her left. The few times that she had been in a meeting so far had been either in Shizuru's office or in one of the conference rooms downstairs.

Maybe it was just a standard addition to all the offices in the building, she considered, even if that idea seemed pretty inefficient. Why waste space and money on furniture that wasn't needed? Not that the company couldn't afford it, but she was basically an intern, for Pete's sake. What did she need to hold meetings for?

___What was that saying? Don't look a gift horse in the mouth? Could be that it's just a perk of working under the CEO, y'know._

She shook her head and and turned the chair 180 degrees, gazing out through the massive windows and easily spotting the university campus off in the distance. No matter what, it was a nice office. She hadn't even expected to get one of her own since she wasn't a full-time employee, but she certainly wasn't planning on complaining.

___Yeah._ She sighed and bowed her head, her brow furrowing.___ Nice office, nice view, nice wages... Working for Fujino-san could be worse._

Of course, her job would be a lot nicer if she was working for Shizuru rather than Fujino-san, but that... wasn't the case.

___And whose fault is that, 'Kuga-han'?_ she wryly prodded at herself. ___Christ, the second that the woman started to be a little more than passing-acquaintance-friendly, you freaked out. You'd think that you'd learned your lesson about that._

She turned the chair back around and reclaimed the file from its place on her desk, flipping over to the second page and studying the words printed there without any of them really registering.

_"__Natsu...ki."_

_"__NO!"_

She pulled off her glasses and rubbed at the bridge of her nose as she pushed the memory away. "Shit. I just keep making a mess of this stuff, don't I?"

What was it, she wondered as she fingered the corner of one sheet of paper, that made it so different when Shizuru teased her? As opposed to Mai, for instance? Was that old betrayal really bothering her that much all these years later? So much so that she couldn't even take a simple joke without her temper flaring up?

Talk about inefficient.

She considered the idea, and realized that no... that wasn't it. But then what was?

She gave the door to the outer office a glance, and snorted. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on her. The woman who was most likely the best possible help in finding the answer to that question was just two doors away, but chances were less than slim that she could make herself ask for help after that interview. Professionally, it had been a roaring success. Personally, not so much.

And as much as she felt like an ass right now, she knew that she'd feel like an even bigger one if she was to apologize to Shizuru without being able to give the older woman a reason for her reaction. So...

___Alright. _She slid off her shoes beneath the desk and propped her hosed feet up on top of it, leaning back and tapping her folded glasses against her chin. ___Think, damn you. What the hell crawled up your butt and died? Even if it's a subconscious choice, you're pushing her away, and there's a reason for it._

What was it Mai had said back then? She frowned as she tried to remember. "Anger... masks an emotion we're too afraid to face... yeah, that was it." Her teeth worried at her lip for a few seconds. "Okay, so there's something about her that I'm worried about... so far, so good."

Green eyes stared pensively at the wall.

"Worried..." she muttered, mulling over the choice of words and knowing that even if it wasn't a conscious thing, she rarely used the wrong one for the context. Was it possible to 'worry' about something that had happened in the past? Probably not. "So it's about something she _might _do... not something she's already done... hm..."

The watch on her wrist ticked softly, every click of the slim hand seeming loud in the stillness of the office.

___Romantic advances?_ The thought alone made her blush. ___No... that's not it, either. Certainly not now._

While Natsuki was by no means an expert in matters of the heart, she was pretty sure that you had to be on a first-name basis with someone before you could make any moves of that nature and not get slapped... well, apart from maybe asking said person out. So that couldn't be what she was worried about Shizuru doing.

Her computer beeped softly just as her eyes widened, then closed tightly as the proverbial pieces fell into place. "God..." She clapped a hand against her forehead and groaned. "Idiot!" Another few whaps. "Stupid... ignorant... idiot!" A heavy breath whooshed out between her teeth as she straightened in her seat, her feet landing on the floor with a thump.

"I am such a fucking moron sometimes," she muttered disdainfully, pulling a notepad out from a drawer and finding a pen. "Honestly..." The dark head shook as she bent over the file, peering at the page with a determined air. "Alright, what have we got here?"

_

* * *

_The strengthening sunlight of the late morning streamed in through the large windows and illuminated the office, some of them traveling over the professional-looking woman that stood in front of one of the massive panes and gazed out at the expanse of buildings, trees and ocean outside, hands clasped loosely behind her back.

She really should be preparing for that meeting, Shizuru privately acknowledged as she followed the progress of a large ferry that was nothing more than an oddly shaped, white dot on the blue water from this distance. After all, it would only be a few more hours before she had to drive across town for it, and as it was, she'd really have to push herself in order to go through everything that she needed to beforehand.

Of course, if her assistant would only bring that file back, the worst of it would be taken care of.

A sigh._Ara, Shizuru... that's hardly fair,_ she mentally scolded herself. ___You do have a copy of your own. And you don't really need Natsuki's input on it quite that badly, do you?_

She shrugged out of her blazer and turned, draping the garment over the back of the desk chair and straightening her shirt with a few tugs as she crossed over to the small counter that had been installed the previous week, complete with a faucet, sink and an electric kettle.

That, she was certain, had raised a few eyebrows somewhere. While the company was very easy-going in regards to what it allowed its employees to have in their offices, what basically amounted to a tea-brewing station was probably a first. But as she had said when she'd discussed the addition with her immediate supervisor - who also happened to be her father - it would save her a lot of time. There were hardly any offices in this part of the building, and as such, the closest kitchen was a five minute walk away.

Her making that trek, short through it was, whenever she wanted a cup of tea, would no doubt add up quickly. Her father had agreed. Once he'd finished laughing.

Shizuru chuckled at the memory as she turned on the faucet and filled the kettle with a fresh supply of water. Well, she'd always been perceived as somewhat of an eccentric by those around her. And since that little bit of mystique had served her well in the past, she really saw no reason to make an effort to change it.

She set down the kettle and turned it on, keen ears keeping careful track of the sounds coming from it as she rinsed out the nearby teapot, then selected a bag of tea and dropped a few spoonfuls of the fragrant leaves into the pot. The kettle started to hiss softly, and she closed up the bag as she watched the temperature indicator on the appliance climb up to 75 degrees Celsius.

The bag was put away, and at 82 degrees, she turned off the kettle and filled the teapot with the steaming water before setting the lid back on. It would need a few minutes to steep, she knew, so she took the pot with her as she walked over to the other side of the room, setting it down on the low table before seating herself on the nearest couch and picking up a stack of papers.

Her eyes ran over the first page six times without actually picking anything up, and she leaned back against the cushions with a sigh. ___I hate this._

Twenty-one days and two hours ago, she had watched Natsuki walk back into her life and been elated. Twenty-one days, one hour and fifteen minutes ago, she had been utterly terrified that she'd lose contact with the young woman all over again because of an ill-timed joke. And twenty-one days, one hour and thirteen minutes ago, what had seemed to be the reappearance of their friendship had been reduced to a polite working relationship.

___Ara, ara..._ She rested the papers in her lap and folded her hands on top of them. Yes, Natsuki's reaction to her teasing had been a little over the top, but an argument always had to have more than one participant. And people always reacted more strongly when faced with something they weren't prepared for, so Shizuru knew that she carried part of the blame herself... since she'd hit the woman with a personal tease when Natsuki was expecting a professional interview.

And the younger woman had made a good point, she considered. Natsuki wasn't a child anymore, and would have to have been hurt on some level when Shizuru had basically made fun of the work she'd done to get to where she was.

___Honestly, Shizuru..._ She mentally shook her head at herself.___ A 'good little schoolgirl'? She's grown so much that it makes you ache with pride just to see the way she carries herself now, and that's what you reduce her to? Why didn't you offer her a pacifier and a bottle while you were at it?_

She had realized her error the second Natsuki had slapped her hand, and she had felt so helpless as she'd watched the young woman walk away. It had only been by the barest of margins that she'd managed to keep her voice calm when there had been no reaction to her calls, and only a quick stroke of inspiration had made her alter her way of addressing her old friend.

_"__Kuga-han!"_

God, how she'd hated letting that word pass her lips. It was so cold... impersonal... professional. But it had made Natsuki stop. So she'd kept using it, and for whatever reason, Natsuki had not corrected her, but instead started addressing her in the same manner.

Their relationship was proper. Polite. Efficient.

Stilted. Wary. Uncomfortable.

And she really wished that they could go back three weeks and do that godforsaken interview over again. Perhaps then they'd be able to spend time together over lunch instead of having to rely on business matters. And perhaps then she'd feel comfortable enough to simply ask the young woman to come over to her office and work with her, rather than have Yamuri-han send over files she didn't really need help with and wait for Natsuki to bring them back.

She pulled back her sleeve and glanced at her watch, giving her reflection in the glass a disgusted look. "You, Fujino Shizuru, are a coward."

A knock at the door interrupted her musings, and she straightened reflexively and set the papers aside, instead picking up the teapot – which had probably been allowed to steep for a little too long by now – and set about pouring herself a cup. "Come."

"Fujino-san, a moment?"

She recognized the voice and raised her gaze as Natsuki poked her head in, and somehow managed to keep the twinge off of her face at the formal title. "Of course. Please come in."

___Coward, coward, coward, _her mind nagged at her as she watched her assistant stride across the room and sit down a respectful distance away. ___You could have invited her to use your first name, even had a decent opening for it, but nooo... Wouldn't want to rock the boat, would we?_

She swallowed a sigh. "May I offer you a cup of tea?" she asked, and, at the other woman's nod, took another cup from the small collection she kept on the table and filled it, then set it down in front of Natsuki and put the teapot away once more. "What may I assist you with, Kuga-han?"

The green eyes briefly met her own while Natsuki's lips tightened, and she spent a moment wondering if maybe the younger woman felt as uncomfortable about the situation as she did. Then the contact was broken as Natsuki looked down to put on her glasses, and turned a few pages in the file she'd brought in with her.

"It concerns the file you sent over," she said. "The overview of the Naromi contract." The papers rustled as she turned a few more pages. "I realize that I don't have much experience in this yet, but it seems to me that we should renegotiate before we sign anything on this deal."

"Really?" Shizuru folded her hands around her cup and took a cautious sip, noting with some displeasure that the taste of the tea was, indeed, a little off. "Why is that?"

"Well..." Natsuki picked up her own cup and took a sip, then paused and sent her a curious glance before setting the tea back down. "I honestly don't think their offer is good enough, if you'll forgive my bluntness. And somebody really put their foot in it if the contract made it this far without anyone sounding the alarm, because according to the information we have in the company database, they're trying to hire out their people to us for three times the wage that they currently pay them."

"Excuse me?"

"Here..." Natsuki set a single sheet of paper down on the table between them and leaned closer, her finger tracing a few lines. "This is what they said their standard hourly wage for their lab technicians was when the negotiations started a few months ago... a little over a thousand yen." Another sheet was laid down. "And now they're offering to have the same lab techs do work for us at 3500 yen per hour, per head. In our building, using our materials." A third page. "And for some reason, nobody flagged this paragraph... where it says that their techs will be paid the standard wage of those thousand yen."

The younger woman straightened and turned her head to gaze at her. "I'm not gonna speculate on whether or not this is a typo on Naromi Tech's part or if they're trying to pull a fast one and hope that no one notices that they'll be pocketing the extra funds." A shrug. "Could be either one. But I will say that I think we need to go over this deal again. Thoroughly."

"I think I shall have to agree with you," Shizuru mused, picking up the papers and reading them more closely. "At the very least, I believe we need to ask Naromi Tech exactly what those extra 2500 yen per hour are for, if not wages for the technicians."

"Mm."

"I suppose I need to cancel my meeting this afternoon, then." She met the green eyes and smiled a little. "Good catch, Kuga-han. Well done."

"Natsuki."

She blinked. "Pardon?"

A sigh. "My name is Natsuki. You've been calling me that since I was in junior high." Her assistant studied her folded hands. "I... miss hearing it. And I'm sorry... for yelling at you. I was just... I..."

"Natsuki..." She hesitantly reached out a hand and let it come to rest on the younger woman's arm. "You don't need to exp--"

"Yes, I do." Natsuki cut her off firmly, her eyes closing even as her voice softened. "Just... please just listen, alright?"

"Alright." Shizuru nodded, which, she realized, was pointless, as the woman could hardly see her from behind her eyelids. For a moment she wondered if she should remove her hand, but it was covered by one of Natsuki's own before she got the chance.

"Don't take this the wrong way," her assistant said, her head bowed. "But I am so incredibly scared of you. Not," she hastily continued as she undoubtedly felt Shizuru flinch. "Not because of what happened during the Carnival. That was years ago, we both screwed up, end of story. I'm over it, and I'll forgive you a thousand times over if you need me to."

"...ookini." She felt the younger woman's fingers curl around hers in a light squeeze, and folded her own hand to return it. "But then..."

"Hn." The dark head nodded. "I was wondering that myself. Shizuru... when you first left, I was angry at everyone. Constantly." Natsuki rested her chin on her free hand and glanced out of the window. "I didn't even really think about it until I said something stupid and made Mai cry. She told me that when you're angry, you're basically using that anger as a shield against something you're afraid to admit."

"That sounds reasonable," the executive agreed softly, glancing down at their joined hands and idly wondering at how comfortable the other woman seemed to be with the physical contact. "Did you find out what you were afraid to admit back then?"

A dry chuckle. "That I was hurting. I didn't understand how you could claim to be in... in love with me... and then leave without a word."

"Kanin--"

"Don't. I said I was over it."

Shizuru swallowed, but nodded. "Very well. Go on."

"Thank you." There was a brief pause. "I figured out that I was hurting, and while I don't think I ever really stopped missing you, I got to a point where I didn't think about it all that much. Until about six weeks ago."

"My letter."

Natsuki nodded. "Your letter. And the spiel on the news about you coming back, which was what really made it sink in, I guess." The younger woman gave her a wan smile. "And I'm glad you're back. Very much. But at the same time, I'm absolutely terrified that you're gonna pull another disappearing act and I'm gonna have to start all over again."

"I won't," the executive promised.

Her assistant grunted. "Logically, I know that. It's gonna take a little while for the rest of me to catch up, though."

The silence stretched between them again. At least, Shizuru noted as she idly enjoyed the feeling of the warm hand in her own, it was a comfortable silence this time.

"Y'know," Natsuki spoke up again. "I'm also kinda pissed at you for calling me a little schoolgirl." There was a glint of amusement in her eyes as she wagged a finger at the older woman. "Low blow, Fujino."

She bowed her head. "I realize that now, yes." Shame at her earlier inconsideration warred with a tentative sort of joy at the other woman's apparent forgiveness. "I hope Natsuki will accept my apologies for that. I certainly didn't mean to belittle her in any way."

"Hey, hey..." Her assistant's tone had changed to one of worry, and she heard the rustle that meant that Natsuki was turning in her seat to better face her as the hand that still held her own now tightened its grasp a fraction. "I was just kidding. Really, Shizuru... it's f--"

"No." Now it was her turn to interrupt, though she took care to keep her voice soft. "Natsuki has had her say. Let me have mine, please."

"... alright. Go on."

For a few seconds, the only sound in the large room was the soft whirring of the executive's computer.

"You remember," she then spoke up. "What my reaction was when I first saw you."

She heard a small sound of amusement. "You fell on your ass. I couldn't forget that sight if I tried."

"I was rather relieved that the chair didn't simply roll out from underneath me," she admitted as she felt a small smile curl her mouth. "That would have been... decidedly embarrassing."

A low chuckle.

"But I wonder if you know ___why_ I 'fell on my ass', as you put it."

Another period of silence, wherein she turned her head to see Natsuki gazing pensively at the table in front of them, her brow furrowed lightly in thought.

"Surprise?" The green eyes met hers once more. "I'm pretty sure you weren't expecting me to be the one to walk in."

"Ara... no, I certainly wasn't," she conceded with a dip of her head. "But that wasn't the only cause for my reaction."

"Hm." A pause. "Then no... I don't know."

"Do you know, then..." She bent her head to look at their interlocked hands, which were resting between them on the surface of the couch. "That while I still saw the girl I knew in the woman that entered my office that morning... if I had projected onto that woman all the dreams I held for the girl, they would simply have slid right off?" She shook her head with a sense of amazement, and looked up into a pair of somewhat befuddled looking emerald eyes. "Those dreams, grand though they most assuredly were, simply did not measure up to reality."

"I..." She watched Natsuki's lips move soundlessly for a few seconds.

"You were still... my Natsuki." She hesitated slightly in her use of the possessive, and was heartened when her assistant blushed faintly but otherwise didn't comment. "And yet so much more."

The dark head lowered in embarrassment, but she placed a finger under the younger woman's chin and gently raised it back up so she could meet her eyes. "You have gone so much farther than I ever could have prayed you would, Natsuki. Which I hope you know is quite an achievement to your credit."

A smile, small and somewhat shy, but pleased. "Yeah... I guess I know that."

She let her hand settle on top of the one she was already holding, cradling it warmly. "And I am very...___ very_ honored to say that I know you."

"... thank you."

_"__Ojou-sama?"_

The sound of her secretary's voice coming from the intercom on her desk made the executive turn her head, and she gave the hand in her own another light squeeze before releasing it and rising to her feet. The brief distance to the desk was covered easily enough, and she bent over the surface of it to press the button needed. "Yes, Yamuri-han?"

_"__Kojuuro-san wishes to meet with you as soon as you are able," _the older woman related, naming the Vice President of Sales for the division. ___"He's waiting in Conference Two and would prefer if you could head down there now."_

"Very well." She rested one hand on her mouse and closed down a few windows. "In the meantime, Yamuri-han, please send a copy of the Naromi overview to the financial department for review. Leave a note for them to pay particular attention to..." A glance over to the couches, where Natsuki obligingly held up three different finger combinations. "... pages three, fifteen and thirty-two." A pause. "And cancel my meeting with Naromi Tech this afternoon. Tell them that I'm irrevocably detained as I need to train my new assistant."

She heard the scoff from the assistant in question, and didn't quite manage to bite back her grin.

_"__Certainly."_

She couldn't really blame Natsuki for scoffing at the cause she'd given for canceling the meeting, she idly decided as the intercom clicked off, as it had been both an excuse and an outright lie on her part. Natsuki had, after all, needed remarkably little training.

While Shizuru would, with a small twinge of shame, admit that she hadn't hired the younger woman for _all_ the right reasons, she was quite certain by now that she had nevertheless found the best person for the job. The keen intelligence that had sparked so restlessly behind those familiar eyes all those years ago had matured and sharpened with age, and now showed an aptitude for both retention, comprehension and autodidactism that was nothing short of astounding. A brilliant mind for many things, not the least of which was business matters.

And it easily matched, the executive knew, the no less brilliant mind that lurked behind her own eyes.

Even during the past weeks, the two of them had been what she supposed Natsuki would call a 'hell of a team'. And now that the storm seemed to have blown over, she had a definite feeling that the work they did was only going to improve further.

"Ara, ara." She claimed her suit jacket from where it rested over the back of her chair and slid it on. "It seems that my schedule for the day has altered significantly yet again."

A snort from the woman on the couch. "What else is new?"

"Indeed," she conceded wryly, buttoning the front of the jacket and tugging the garment properly into place as she crossed over to the door. "But it is still, at least, a meeting." She reached for the handle, then reconsidered and instead turned to face the small collection of couches. "Would Natsuki care to join it?"

The dark head tilted at her question, and she watched the green eyes flicker briefly, knowing that the younger woman was most likely running through her mental worklist and deciding whether she could spare the time or not.

She probably couldn't, Shizuru realized with a vague sense of regret. After all, who would know better what tasks Natsuki had to do than the one who had assigned them to her in the first place?

"Sure." Her assistant rose and strode over to her, adjusting her own blazer as she walked. "Worst that can happen is that I learn something new, right?"

The executive felt her lips twitch as she remembered that last time the Sales VP and her friend - creatures equally prone to hotheadedness - had been in the same room. "Well..."

"Actually..." Pale lips shaped a crooked grin as the door was pulled open. "Don't answer that."

Perhaps Natsuki had recalled the same moment, Shizuru considered with a mental chuckle as she let the other woman precede her into the outer office. "As you wish."

Up until now, whenever the two of them had left the office together to either go home, to lunch or a meeting, Shizuru had been the one in front, with her assistant a few steps behind. Whether the young woman had done so out of polite deference to her or out of simple discomfort, she didn't know.

But this time, Shizuru was pleased to note...

This time, Natsuki walked beside her.


	5. Did You Know?

This time, I have a question for you.

I hinted at something in the first part of _Prologue_, but no one picked up on it that I heard of. As it is in this chapter that we get the full story in regards to said hint, please riddle me this: Did You Know?

As always, thank you for reading.

**A Million Reasons; part V**

Did You Know?

* * *

"How did your classes go this week?" Shizuru asked. "Did you manage to blow up any more of the university's laboratories?"

"Oi!" The young woman seated across from her scowled at the tease. "One time!" She set down her chopsticks and rested one arm on the table, leaning forward and raising a single finger at her. "One! That was all, thank you."

The two of them were seated at an outdoor table at a small café in downtown Fuuka, enjoying a late lunch and the warm, late May weather before they would head back to the office to finish out the work week. The noon hours had been taken up with a very aggravating meeting across town, and from the way her assistant's shoulders had slumped in relief the second they'd left, she was fairly certain that she wasn't the only one looking forward to the weekend.

"Ara, that's true," the executive admitted as she picked up a fried mushroom with her own chopsticks. "But history, as they say, is rather prone to repeating itself."

"You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?"

Shizuru popped the mushroom into her mouth and chewed. "I'm not quite sure what Natsuki is referring to."

That earned her a definite 'look' in response. "Like hell you're not. You're just yanking my chain exactly like you did back in high school."

She carefully smothered a smile by taking a sip of her beverage. "As I said, history tends to repeat itself."

"Bah." Natsuki reclaimed her utensils and clicked them at her. "I can't even tell you to shut up without proving your point."

"I apologize for putting Natsuki in a tight spot, then."

"Uh huh." An expertly cooked piece of meat was picked up and held between the slim sticks while a dark eyebrow cocked. "In keeping with the subject, it's not like you haven't done so before," her assistant reminded her, then chewed the food.

While she was certain Natsuki hadn't meant it in that way, the words still reminded her of the fiasco that had been the last few days of the Carnival. And it hurt, she quietly admitted, even as she gave the younger woman a small smile and turned her attention to the plate in front of her.

"Mrf." There was a soft sound of swallowing from across the table. "Dammit, Shizuru, stop feeling guilty, already. I told you I was over it."

Exactly when, the executive wondered as she looked up in surprise, had she grown so easy to read? "I'm..."

"Don't even think about denying it." Natsuki's face was set in a mild scowl, but the look in her eyes softened almost imperceptibly as she rested her arms on the table and leaned a little closer. "I know you better than that."

Then again, maybe it wasn't her that had become easier to read, she considered. Maybe Natsuki had simply gotten better at reading her.

"I suppose you do."

"Hrmph." A grunt, and a small nod of apparent satisfaction. "Damn right I do. So knock it off, Fujino. No guilt-tripping on my watch."

"Ara? But I do have to pay my debt to Natsuki somehow," she countered, suddenly feeling a good deal more cheerful. "How about on her lap instead?"

"Shizuru!"

The sight of the younger woman turning ten shades of red all at the same time, she noted with a small grin, was still as intriguing as she remembered it.

_

* * *

_"I said, it's fine." Natsuki sighed as she slipped on her blazer and buttoned it. "I can take a damn cab."

_"Don't be silly, Imouto." _Akiko's voice was mildly chastising. _"If you're going to fill in for me when Kaguya has friends over, the least I can do in return is have Morio drive you. He practically passes right by the office after picking her up as it is."_

It had been a long day and a longer week of a seemingly endless row of meetings, some more annoying than others. And while Natsuki was unashamedly looking forward to escaping the confines of the building for a few days, she was a little irked that she couldn't spend some of that time – preferably the time it took to drive from the office and home – in the seat of her Ducati. The otherwise sturdy machine had started leaking brake fluid, and while she was daring at times, she wasn't outright suicidal enough to take a chance like that.

And as she'd yet to find the time to actually repair the damage, she had relied on her family for transportation to work during the past few days. This afternoon, she was supposed to have driven home with her sister, as Morio left the office earlier on Fridays. But unfortunately, that wasn't an option anymore.

"Akiko, c'mon." She used the toes of one foot to pull her shoes out from underneath the desk and slipped into them. "It's not like you chose to stay late."

_"You didn't choose to have your bike not work, either,"_ her sister reasonably pointed out._ "When are the two of you planning on fixing it, by the way?"_

"Tonight." Natsuki listened to the chimes of her computer shutting down, and felt a gentle tickle of anticipation as her mind turned a few hours into the future. Playing grease monkey with her brother in law always ended with a good time had by all involved. "After the brat's gone to bed."

There was a brief pause. _"Are you sure you'll have the energy?"_

She snorted softly. "We're talking about spending a few hours with a handful of six-year-olds. How bad could it be?"

_"Famous last words, sister dear."_

Natsuki pushed her chair into place and perched on the edge of her desk as she regarded the phone wryly. "Wiseass."

She didn't have to see her sister's face to know that the older woman was grinning. _"With age comes wisdom, as they say."_

"You are five years older than me."

_"And yet a lifetime smarter,"_ came the playful reply. _"Morio and Kaguya should be there in fifteen minutes or so. Give them both a kiss for me, hm?"_

"Yeah, yeah." She shook her head in amusement and pushed herself to her feet. "See you when you get home, Nee-chan."

_"See you then."_

The call clicked off, and she spent a few idle moments straightening the surface of her desk before she pushed the door open and peered into the outer office, where she spotted Kina in the process of packing up her things. "Trying to sneak out early, are we?"

"Certainly not," the older woman informed her with a small scoff, giving her only a brief glance before going back to the task of shutting down her own computer. "You offend my work ethic, Kuga-san."

Natsuki grinned. "My sincerest apologies."

Kina smirked and shook her head. "How did the meeting with DTR go?"

"I think it went pretty well." She closed the door behind her and crossed over to the other woman's work station. "And I gotta admit... seeing Shizuru at work blows me away."

Today had been especially educational, she privately admitted. She'd taken part in many a meeting during her stint at the company, but they'd all been internal meetings with other departments, and thus pretty amicable this far.

The people at DTR, however, had not been happy campers.

DTR was a nation-wide corporation that worked mainly as a middle-man between the companies that fabricated medical supplies and the hospitals that bought them. At the start of the year, they'd signed a contract with Fujino Inc. for a substantial amount of various medicines and vaccines, set to start production in Fukokua during the summer. That same production had since been shifted to the Fuuka division shortly after it opened.

The basis for that decision had been that while there was certainly nothing wrong with the facilities in Fukokua, the ones in Fuuka were still newer. State of the art, in fact, which meant that that the supplies would be manufactured faster and would even be of a slightly higher quality. That ultimately meant a longer shelf life, and the ability for their customer to sell them on at a larger profit.

Along with that, however, was an increase in production cost that DTR would have to foot the bill for. And while they had signed the new papers, they'd also raised a stink to high heaven about how they were getting screwed over since they had no time to find another vendor.

_"So we shall have to go make nice. But I doubt," Shizuru had warned her as they'd walked across the parking lot in the late morning sunshine. "That we will get a friendly reception."_

The loud arguing they'd been able to hear from the other end of the hall had made that pretty obvious. Once Shizuru had opened the door and the two of them had entered the conference room, the noise had stopped for all of two seconds before the assembled DTR representatives had started shouting at them instead.

But Shizuru hadn't said a word. Instead, she had simply led the way to the end of the room, taken a seat and calmly folded her hands atop the table as if she couldn't even hear the angry voices. And Natsuki had done the same, much as said voices had grated on her nerves.

She'd had half a mind to just yell at them to shut the hell up... had been about to do so, in fact, when she'd felt a touch on her knee under the surface of the table. That, along with a brief cut of the crimson eyes to her own, had kept her quiet, and she'd watched as the executive let her gaze go around the table. Those steady, unflinching red eyes had settled on the first yelling manager until he had trailed off into uncomfortable silence, then moved on to the next one and the one after... until the room had been so quiet she could have heard the proverbial pin drop.

Then Shizuru had smiled in that infallibly polite way of hers and proceeded to explain exactly why it was a good thing that the production had been moved to Fuuka, and had done so with a mixture of pure personality and an intricate knowledge of the business that had simply rolled down the table at them.

By the time the meeting was over, the people from DTR had been happy, albeit very apologetic, campers. Natsuki, meanwhile, had been nothing short of awestruck.

_Exactly what am I supposed to be helping her with again?_ she found herself wondering now._ Damn... she could probably run the entire company by sheer force of will, if nothing else._

"I mean... I know I've watched her do her thing probably a dozen times, but God..." Her hands came to rest on her hips as she slowly shook her head in amazement. "She just walks in and takes over."

"That's what I hear." The secretary nodded in agreement as she picked up her purse and set it on the desk between them. "She goes in and..." She snapped her fingers. "Next thing you know, everyone suddenly sees things her way."

"That's gotta be handy."

"Undoubtedly." The older woman settled her purse over her shoulder and walked off towards the hallway outside. "Enjoy your weekend, Kuga-san. See you next week."

"Same splat time, same splat channel." She waited for the chuckle to die off as the door shut behind Kina, then ambled over to the double doors leading to Shizuru's office. A quick moment of listening did allow her to pick up the faintest sound of conversation on the other side, but judging from the tone of the executive's voice, it was pretty obvious that she wasn't talking to a customer.

She pushed down the handle and poked her head in.

_"I got the most curious message delivered to me this afternoon,"_ a male voice was saying through the speaker attached to the phone on the CEO's desk.

"Really?" Shizuru responded from her comfortably reclined position in her desk chair. When she presumably heard the door open, she looked up from the pen in her hands and waved her in. "From whom?"

_"Apparently someone at DTR felt that they owed us a formal apology."_

"Ara." Shizuru watched her quietly settle into one of the available chairs, and gave her a small grin. "Imagine that."

_"Indeed."_ Now there was a definite note of pride in the man's voice. _"Excellent work, Shi-chin. Well done."_

That voice, Natsuki realized, would have to belong to Fujino Hiraku, the head of the company. And, of course, Shizuru's father... which probably explained how he was able to make the usually unflappable woman across from her blush.

"Ookini." The older woman cast a glance at the phone before looking back at her and giving her a quick wink. "But I could not have done the job alone."

_"Ah, yes, your assistant. How are you, Kuga-han?"_

Natsuki blinked in surprise._ How the hell did he know I was here?_

"I'm fine, Sir." She paused briefly. "And Shizuru's being way too modest." The quirk of a tawny eyebrow across the desk caught her eye, and she smirked in response. "All the credit for solving the DTR mess should go to her."

_"Kuga-han?"_

"Sir?"

_"Are you calling my daughter a liar?"_

"Uh..." She stared at the phone and felt her brain struggle to find a response. "Well, I... um..."

"Honestly, Papa." Shizuru's voice was as dry as she'd ever heard it. "I would appreciate it if you would refrain from playing mind games with my assistant. Natsuki isn't familiar enough with our interactions that she can tell when you're simply jesting."

A deep, devious chuckle, and a reply in a teasing tone she knew all too well. _"Ah, true. My apologies, Kuga-han."_

_My God, it's genetic._ She was fairly certain that her thoughts were showing on her face. Either that, or Shizuru had recently developed a habit of chewing very dedicatedly on her lower lip. "N-not at all, Sir."

_"Then I'll leave the both of you to enjoy the weekend," _Hiraku told them, over the faint sound of fingers against a keyboard. _"Hopefully you will be spared the joy of a dinner meeting spent trading lies and exaggerations over distinctively rubbery food."_

She watched the crimson gaze shift to meet her own, and recognized the wryly amused glint in them as Shizuru's lips twitched faintly.

"Of course, Papa," the executive told the man. "Have a nice weekend."

Father and daughter exchanged a few more pleasantries before the call ended, and the two of them were left regarding each other in silence.

"And that," Shizuru told her after a few seconds. "Was our distinguished Board Chairman."

She nodded. "I gathered. He's... a character."

"Mm."

"Anyway." Natsuki leaned back in her seat and folded her arms loosely. "Are you about done for the day?" She tilted her head at the older woman. "'Cause it's 4 o'clock and I'm heading out in a few minutes."

"Ah." Shizuru gave the monitor in front of her a quick glance as she straightened in her seat. "Yes, I think that I've about finished all there is to finish for this week." A brief period of silence as she rested her arms on the desk. "But Natsuki really doesn't need to wait around. You're quite free to leave ahead of me if you wish."

"I don't think so, Madam. The last time I did that, you didn't leave the office until well into the evening," she reminded her friend. "So pack it up, Boss." She slapped a hand against the desk and rose to her feet. "Let's blow this popsicle stand."

Amused didn't even begin to describe the look that earned her.

"Popsicle stand?" Twinkling red eyes studied her for a long moment. "Ara, ara... I think perhaps Natsuki's video games are beginning to have an adverse effect on her brain."

"Oh, shut up." She felt her cheeks tint lightly and scowled. "You're just stalling. We've given this place our due for the week, and I for one say we get the hell outta here."

"It has been an eventful day," Shizuru admitted diplomatically as she pushed her chair back and stood.

"You have a real gift for understatement, did I ever tell you that?"

The executive chuckled softly as the two of them trekked across the room. "Does Natsuki have anything planned for the weekend?"

"Oh, this and that." She shrugged as she tugged the heavy door open. "First and foremost, it looks like I'll get to spend tonight in the company of fingerpaints and grease."

"Pardon?"

The door closed behind them, leaving the office in silence.

_

* * *

_Shizuru closed the door to the recent-model Toyota behind her and slung her briefcase over one shoulder with a sigh. It was, she privately acknowledged, nice to be home.

'Home' was in the heart of Fuuka's Eastern Hills district, and consisted of a comfortably-sized, traditional Japanese mansion that had belonged to her family for longer than she'd been alive. As it had stood empty for the past years, there was no staff assigned apart from the gardening service that stopped by a couple of times a week to maintain the surrounding grounds, and Shizuru had no plans to change that. She wasn't so opposed to housework that she was willing to trade it in for her privacy if she didn't have to.

So it was in silence that she flipped the switch that would close the garage, and as she entered the house through the nondescript door to the back hallway, there was a similar lack of greetings.

She wasn't quite certain if she liked that or not.

There was another soft sigh as she paused on the tile floor to trade her shoes for a pair of slippers, followed by a small humming noise when she crossed onto the wooden floor of the spacious living room, and then onwards yet again into the room that served as an office.

The room wasn't a large one, but it was just a touch above what was really needed for its purpose, as the only items in here were a desk, a couch, a low table and a few bookcases that were all filled to the brim. All in dark tones that gave the room a decidedly masculine feel.

Which, she reminded herself, she really had to do something about one of these days. The office wasn't her father's anymore, after all. Not after he'd legally signed the property over to her, at any rate.

Shizuru let her briefcase settle on the desk with a gentle plop, and peered at the wooden furniture as she considered what to do with herself for the remainder of the day.

_Dinner?_ The chestnut head tilted in thought, then shook. That was too early, and besides, she wasn't feeling hungry at the moment due to the late lunch she'd shared with her assistant earlier in the day.

"Well, then." Slender fingers drummed against the leather of the briefcase, and she dropped her gaze to regard the movement for a few seconds.

She straightened, then, and made her way into the front hall and up the stairs to the second floor. She could always trade in her suit for something a touch more casual, she decided as she continued into the bedroom and pulled open the closet doors.

Skirt, jacket and shirt were deposited on the surface of the large bed for the time being, and she traded them in for a pair of comfortable, dark slacks and a pale blouse. Then she reclaimed her work clothes and slinked back downstairs to the ground floor, making a brief detour into the small laundry room to rid herself of her burden.

Two of the items made their way into the woven hamper without fanfare, but she paused as she held up the jacket and remembered the tug Natsuki had given it as the two of them had parted ways outside the office building not that long ago.

"_Natsuki isn't riding her bike today?" she had asked with some surprise as her assistant had walked right past the small shed that gave those with that mode of transportation somewhere to park their vehicles and change out of any riding gear they might be wearing._

"_Nah." The young woman had shrugged. "There's some minor damage to it right now... I'm hoping to have it fixed by tonight."_

"_That would explain the grease you mentioned earlier," she had agreed, mildly bemused. "How about the fingerpaints?"_

"_Ah." A quick grin. "Well, Kaguya's having some friends over for dinner, and since I have to be part of that little party, my family's picking me up."_

_She hadn't gotten a chance to ask before Natsuki had spoken up again._

"_There they are."_

_Her gaze had followed the direction of Natsuki's own, and she'd spotted a silver sedan parked not too far away, with a handsome, casually dressed blond man leaning against the side of it. His hands were clasped loosely on the shoulders of a young girl with azure hair, and both of them had waved as they'd spotted her assistant._

"_That's my cue to head off," Natsuki had then told her, giving her sleeve a light tug. "See you next week, Boss."_

"_Of course. Have a good weekend, Natsuki."_

_A smile. "You too."_

_She had turned and walked off towards where her own car was parked, but had been unable to miss the sight of her assistant accepting a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek from the man. Nor had she missed the way the little girl had practically wound herself around Natsuki's legs._

_Even at that distance, she could see that the child looked like the blond man. And like Natsuki._

"I wonder..." she muttered to herself as she tossed the blazer in with the rest of the laundry. "Why she didn't tell me that she'd become a mother?"

Somewhere, that stung. But she wasn't certain if it stung because Natsuki hadn't deemed her important enough to tell her such a thing... or if it was because the part of her that would always think of Natsuki as her first love felt disappointed.

In either case, dwelling on it would do her no good.

Shaking her head, she left the laundry room behind and returned to the office. Since she had nothing else to do, she could just as well see if anything had exploded after she'd gone home for the week.

_Well..._ She settled into the chair and keyed a series of numbers into the phone that sat patiently beside the monitor. _Perhaps I should see how the fingerpainting is coming along. _The familiar sounds of a cell phone's waiting signal echoed softly in the room, and she logged in to her home terminal with a quick clattering of keystrokes while she waited.

The phone was picked up, and the office was immediately filled with a noise mostly reminiscent of a large jet taking off.

_"Gah! Dammit, put that thing down!" _A number of raised voices, squeals and laughter could be heard in the background, followed immediately by a loud thump. _"Sonofa... I said 'put it' down, not 'throw it'!"_

Her hands stilling over the keyboard, Shizuru turned her head and stared at the phone for a few seconds, then felt the laugh bubble up within her and quickly hit the phone's mute button before it got out.

Another loud bump came through the speakers. _"Oof! Kaguya, let go! You're gonna knock me over! What? No! Absolutely no more soda for any of you!" _Chattering._ "How would I know? Go find a DVD to watch or something, okay?"_

_Ara, ara..._ she thought to herself as she unsuccessfully tried to clamp down on her chortling by holding her hands over her mouth. _Poor Natsuki._

The background noise from the other end of the line lessened considerably, and she heard the younger woman sigh heavily. _"God, it's like herding chickens...Sorry about that, whoever you are. Hello?"_

Clearing her throat and trying her very best to keep her voice even, Shizuru gave the mute button another poke. "It seems that Natsuki's home life has gotten considerably more interesting in my absence."

_"Very funny, Shizuru."_

She didn't manage to hit the button fast enough this time around.

_"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, Fujino."_ The phone rustled slightly. _"Dammit, Morio! You coulda told me that giving them sugar was a bad idea."_

A distinctly male voice started laughing in the background, and she heard the man say something, followed by a scoff from her younger friend.

_"No comments from the peanut gallery," _Natsuki growled in response, which only made the man laugh all the harder.

"Natsuki," Shizuru spoke up. "Give my best to your husband and daughter."

Dead, absolute silence from the phone. And then... _"'Scuse me? My what?"_

"Is there a bad connection?" the young CEO wondered aloud, resting her chin on her fist and gazing at her screen.

_"The connection is fine."_ Natsuki's rolling eyes were evident in the tone of her voice. _"I'm not married, Shizuru. And I certainly don't have kids."_ Her voice lowered to a barely audible mutter. _"Matter of fact, after today I'm not sure I want any. Ever."_

More laughing in the background.

Shizuru blinked. "If Natsuki isn't married, whom did I see picking her up today?"

Now Natsuki was the one who chuckled. _"My brother in law and my niece."_

"Ah." The executive rubbed a hand over her face, mentally scolding herself for making assumptions. "I was unaware that Yukimura-han had a family of her own."

Again, there was a brief silence. _"Hang on, Morio."_ Footsteps, and the sound of a door closing, leaving the other end of the line completely silent. _"How do you know my sister?"_

_Ara._

Shizuru closed her eyes and quietly cursed her own carelessness. Natsuki, she knew, would have to be fully aware that she and Yukimura Akiko had never met before. While the fact that the woman was an employee of the company might explain why she knew her name, that was all it _could_ explain.

Natsuki, after all, had yet to mention to Shizuru that she even had a sister, and as such, she shouldn't have been able to make that particular connection.

Of course, what the younger woman didn't know was that Shizuru had played a significant part in the two of them reuniting in the first place.

_Consider it instead a small form of penance for a disservice once done by me to the person in question._

Oh, she very clearly remembered writing that letter; wrought as she'd been with indecision in the days leading up to it. During those days, she'd often wished that her father had flat out neglected to forward to her the curious e-mail that had landed in his inbox at work. One sent to every individual within the company's walls, in which one of their employees in Fukokua had pleaded an exhaustion of all other options and asked for the assistance of anyone with ties to the town of Fuuka.

Where she was hoping to find a young woman – an orphan - carrying the family name of Kuga.

_"Haven't you once mentioned someone by that name?" _had been her father's single addition to the message. And indeed she had, though she'd been mildly surprised that he remembered.

She'd struggled with the choice of whether to act or not. Keeping up with her old friend through files that were publicly available if you knew where to look – such as graduation and enrollment records – was one thing. Interfering in Natsuki's personal life in such a blatant manner was quite another, especially since she'd decided not to do so when she left Fuuka in the first place.

Still, she had slowly started phrasing the letter in the her head as the time passed by... had even called Natsuki's cellular number to make sure she still had the right one, although she had hung up without saying anything once she'd recognized the voice that answered.

And eventually, she had sat down at her desk in the dorms of Kyoto University one night and put pen to paper. The next day, she had sent the letter to her father, along with instructions for him to please ensure that it reached its destination.

It obviously had, though now she wasn't sure exactly how to go about explaining it all to Natsuki.

_Ara,_ she repeated in her head as she tried to find the words._ Ara._

_"Shi--"_ Natsuki's voice cut off briefly as she was interrupted by another voice in the background; this one with a distinctively childish quality to it. _"Hm? Yeah, sure thing, kiddo. Gimme a few minutes, alright?"_

"Your niece?" she asked softly once the other end of the line had gone quiet again.

_"Yeah."_ The added warmth in the younger woman's voice was unmistakable. ___"She and her friends are having a Guitar Hero contest, and I promised I'd play with them."_

Shizuru cocked her head and felt her brow furrow slightly. "Guitar Hero?"

_"__Oh, right... you probably wouldn't keep up with that kinda thing."_ There was a short pause while Natsuki apparently considered how to explain. ___"Well, you play the game with a controller shaped like a small electric guitar... it has five buttons on the fret board that you have to combine for the chords, and a strum bar that you have to move up or down to actually play them. You select a song from the setlist and basically try your damnedest to keep up when all the chords and single notes are coming at you in time with the music."_

She tried to picture that, but wasn't having an especially easy time of it. "I'm afraid I cannot quite see what Natsuki means," she admitted, somewhat apologetically. "But I will take your word that you enjoy it."

A chuckle. ___"I do."_ The younger woman was silent for a few more seconds. ___"Hey, listen..." _Natsuki cleared her throat softly.___ "I'm coming back over here for the day tomorrow... you, ____uh... wanna tag along? Meet the clan?"_

There was a hesitant sort of hope in her voice, and it made the executive smile. "I'd love to."

_

* * *

_The glaringly bright overhead lights in the two-car garage did an admirable job of warding off the oncoming dusk, Natsuki decided as she hefted a half-full container of motor oil and carried it over to the single car parked nearby. The grimy plastic brushed against her leg as she walked, but as she'd had the foresight to change into a set of ratty jeans and a well-worn t-shirt before she'd even gone out here, that wasn't much cause for concern.

"Oi." Two thirds of a body with a pair of slightly sturdier-looking, denim-clad legs were sticking out from under the vehicle's front, and she toed one of the legs with her shoe. "You about done down there yet?"

"Patience is a virtue." Morio grunted slightly as he shifted. "I don't have a lot of room to work with here."

Green eyes rolled. "I told you to either raise the damn thing up or let me do the shimmying, you idiot. You know you don't fit under there."

"Hey." One knee jerked slightly, and her foot was nudged out of the way. "I can't help it if I'm naturally thick around the chest and shoulders."

Natsuki shook her head and stepped around the side of the car. "Yeah, well..." She set the canister down on top of the car's battery and peered down through the small open spaces under the hood. "That ain't the only place you're naturally thick, if you ask me."

"Oh, har har." Her brother in law managed to move enough that she could see a single blue eye regarding her dryly. "You're a real comedian, aren't you, funny girl?"

She stuck the tip of her tongue out through her grin, and watched the eye roll in response. "Get that thing closed back up, wouldya? I'm not getting any younger up here."

Another grunt. "There." She heard a dull thump as Morio gave the bottom of the oil pan a pat. "Pour 'em, barkeep. Shaken, not stirred."

"Right away, Mr. Bond."

Car engines, she reflected as she unscrewed the canister and held the lip of it over the funnel, wasn't a subject she'd been terribly familiar with for a long time. In all honesty, she still wasn't, but she'd picked up what Morio knew soon enough. She didn't see herself opening a garage anytime soon, but it was nice to know that she could at least do the most routine maintenance jobs by herself.

Not that she had any plans of trading in the Ducati, but it wasn't as if that was her vehicle of choice whenever she was out and about with her niece, either. A car was a lot safer than a bike in the event of an accident, and she had no desire to gamble with Kaguya's life.

"Alright." She handed the container over to her brother in law as he got to his feet, and checked the level. "That should do it."

"Yup." Morio gave the clock on the wall a glance, then clapped a strong hand over her shoulder. "Akiko should be home before long. What do you say the two of us fix up something cold and we all sit down outside when she does get back?"

"Sure." Natsuki regarded the now _formerly_ white fabric that covered her shoulder. "You picking up my dry-cleaning bill again, big guy?"

He snorted. "Please, Imouto. The gods themselves couldn't get that shirt clean again."

She gave the shirt in question a glance and had to agree with his assessment, liberally covered as it was with stains both old and new. "Well, I'm not asking the gods, am I?"

Morio, she noted, was no better off. His pale blue polo-shirt had several streaks of grease and dirt on both the chest and the back from his wiggling around under the car. "No," he admitted as he tugged the door to the house open. "But they would have a much better chance than Uroshi Cleaners."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't need a hand?" Akiko asked, peering back over her shoulder as she crossed the front lawn in the fading light.

"I'm fine." Natsuki gave the older woman a look as she followed a few steps behind her. "You're the one who had to stay at work until nigh-on 9 PM on a Friday, so siddown, already." She set her burden down on the wooden table once she reached it. "'Sides, it's a carafe and three glasses. I'm sure I'll survive."

"I should hope so." Akiko distributed the glasses and set about filling them with iced tea. "Where is my husband, by the way?"

"Finding something to nibble on." Green eyes glittered mischievously as Natsuki sat down on the opposite bench and rested her chin on her interlaced fingers. "Aside from you, I mean."

"Smartass."

Natsuki felt her lips shape a grin in response, and shrugged one shoulder to go along with it. "Sometimes."

They fell silent for a while, each sipping from their respective glasses as the sounds and scents of impending summer surrounded them.

"Hey, Nee-chan?" She waited for the older woman to look up. "Do you know Fujino Shizuru?"

Akiko seemed to consider the question, her brow furrowing lightly as she lowered her gaze to the table. "Well, the last name is familiar to anyone who works where we do," she pointed out. "And since Fujino-san happens to be your boss... yes, I've heard of her."

Natsuki shook her head. "Aside from that."

Another thoughtful pause. Then the chocolate-colored eyes blinked once. "Why do you ask?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Because she, apparently, knows that we're related."

Her sister took a long sip of the cool beverage, and she waited while familiar brown eyes studied her closely.

"Do you remember the letter I told you about?"

"Hm?" She cocked her head at the question. "Which letter?"

A soft chuckle. "The one in which I was given your phone number, 'Kuga-san'."

"Oh, that one. Sure." Dark eyebrows lowered in mild confusion. "Why?"

"That's who I got it from."

"You..." She stared at the older woman as the words sunk in. "You got ... my number..."

"... from Fujino Shizuru." Judging from the minute twitches at the corners of her mouth, Akiko was trying to squelch a grin at her loss of composure. "Would you like to see the letter?"

"Huh?" She shook her head slightly in an effort to clear the surprised fog from her mind. "Uh... yeah. Please." A pause. "Why do you still have it?"

The older woman had gotten up and walked over to the screen door where she now paused, one hand against the wall, and glanced back at her. "That's where it all started."

_Holy shit._ She flopped back against the bench after Akiko had entered the house, her hands falling limply to her lap._ She's right. If Shizuru hadn't sent that letter... we probably never would've met._

How different would her life be now, she wondered as she stared at the garden, if it hadn't been for a piece of paper and an old friend? She wouldn't have known that she even had a sister.

There would've been no moments like these in Akiko's garden with just the two of them, a warm evening and a supply of drinks... no Grease Monkey Saturdays with Morio and a couple of engines... no afternoons and evenings with her young niece and – God help it – Kaguya's friends. No family.

"Son of a bitch." She let out a short bark of laughter, mostly to keep the sudden sting of tears at bay. _And she thinks that she's in MY debt?_

"Natsuki." Her sister's voice intruded on her musings as a neatly folded sheet of paper was held out to her over her shoulder. "Here."

"Thanks." She took the paper and carefully unfolded it, reading the short message it contained with a strange feeling of wonder. Yeah, that was Shizuru's handwriting and signature, alright.

Her head shook in disbelief. "F--"

"Ahem."

She glanced up and met a set of gently twinkling brown eyes. "... fiddlesticks." She coughed lightly. "Sorry."

Akiko gave her shoulders a squeeze. "Don't worry about it." Gentle fingers began probing her shoulders, and she felt the oddly tense muscles loosen under the manipulation. "But why..." A sigh. "Natsuki, first you were almost in tears when you learned that Fujino-san would be coming here. Now you learn that she's the one responsible for us meeting, and it's the same thing all over again."

"History..." She felt her face crease into a smile as she remembered hearing the same words earlier that day. "Tends to repeat itself. She sure keeps surprising me."

A small tray of snacks was set down on the table, and she raised her eyes to see Morio peering back at her. "You sound as if you know her." He tilted his fair head. "And the two of you certainly looked chummy this afternoon."

Even teeth captured a lip and chewed it thoughtfully. How much, she wondered, could she explain... without explaining _everything_?

"This..." She briefly lowered her gaze to the paper in her hands before glancing back up at her sister and brother in law. "This goes no further than us." She waited until both heads nodded. "Shizuru and I... were friends at Fuuka Academy, and we... well, we went through some tough things together." She paused and cleared her throat. "Before she left, she... she told me that she was in love with me."

"Well, that would surprise me a little, yes." Akiko tilted her head. "And?"

Natsuki blinked. "And what?"

"And what did you say?"

"Um..." The calm, interested question was the last thing she'd expected. "Well, I said that I couldn't feel about her the way she did about m-- Why are you guys being so calm about this?"

"Eh?" Morio settled into the seat across from her and folded his hands as his wife sat down next to him. "Are we supposed to be upset?"

"Uh..."

Akiko leaned closer to her husband and pretended to whisper in his ear. "I think she's forgotten exactly what it is you and I do for a living."

"I think you're right," Morio replied, taking his cue from his wife and keeping his voice easily audible.

"O-oi!" Natsuki scowled at them both. "Sitting right here, thank you very much."

"Imouto." Akiko leaned forward and folded her hands on the surface of the table. "Spending as little as five minutes in a lab with a sample of someone's genes makes it clear to anyone that when it comes to humans, there is a vast number of things that we have very, very little control over." She reached one hand out and flicked the letter with a finger. "Who we fall in love with is very high on, if not at the top of, said list."

"Besides, from what I know of Fujino-san, she's good people," Morio interjected. "She's from a good family, she's beautiful, intelligent, wealthy and..." He laid an arm around his wife's shoulders and nodded to the letter. "She obviously still cares about you." A pause, and an impish wink. "You could do far, far worse than her."

"And the two of you would certainly make some beautiful babies," Akiko went on with a grin. "Or at least have fun trying."

Natsuki groaned and let her forehead meet the table as she felt the heat in her face increase tenfold. "God save me from the minds of you people," she muttered, and tried to ignore the laughter coming from the other side of the table.


	6. Bright Eyes

For disclaimers, please see Part I.

**Author's Notes:**

"I believe more flashbacks need to be interrupted with 'BWOOONNGGG!'."  
_- Friend of mine, after reading a scene from this chapter._

I can only agree. If anyone is willing to take up the challenge of fitting the above 'word' into a scene, please let me know when you're done. I'd love to see what others can get out of that particular noise. The above friend mentioned that he got an image in his head of a bra exploding open, so run with that, if you wish, or make up something entirely your own. Ah, creativity.

On a totally unrelated note, I research the weirdest things sometimes. Japanese cellular phone number structure and ditto area codes for the first part of _Prologue_ springs to mind, as well as the process of properly preparing green tea for part IV of this story. I must have too much time on my hands.

Thank you for reading, as always.

**A Million Reasons; part VI**

Bright Eyes

* * *

The alarm sounded, breaking the silence in the bedroom. Shortly after, a soft groan joined it, and a silk-clad arm snaked out from under the coverlet to let its hand tap the off button on top of the infernal machine.

Shizuru pushed herself free of the covers and ran a half-awake hand over her face as she got off the large futon and rose to her feet. She spent a few seconds staring blankly at the digitally displayed time, wondering why on earth she had set her alarm for 6 AM on her day off, then remembered that Natsuki was picking her up at 8:30.

That thought perked her up significantly, and it was with a sense of renewed determination that she exchanged her sleeping kimono for her workout clothes – a simple white gi and black hakama – tied her hair back and proceeded down the second floor hallway. At the very end of it, she opened a door and stepped into what had only recently become her gym; a large, rectangular room with smooth, pale wooden flooring and walls painted a faint shade of dark green.

Originally, this had been the master bedroom of the house, mostly evident from the doors that opened up to a decently-sized balcony and the large windows that overlooked the gardens outside and allowed for plenty of light. Shizuru, however, had no use for quite that much space just to sleep and dress in, and so had the furniture cleared out and replaced with a few select pieces of fitness equipment, all of which stood off to one side and left the better part of the floor open.

She pulled open the balcony doors to let in the sounds and scents of the early morning, then turned her attention to the machines after adjusting the loose pants so the material wouldn't end up getting caught in anything.

Fifteen minutes on the rowing machine for a full-body warm-up. Two sets of leg presses, shoulder presses, abdominal crunches and lunges, with each set consisting of fifteen repetitions of each exercise. It was a routine she was long used to, and one she went through religiously every single morning unless she didn't have the option at all, or was so ill that she couldn't get out of bed. It was followed by a few minutes of stretching to make sure that her body was properly loosened up, and only then did she free the bindings on the hakama and walk over to the opposite wall to carefully remove the polearm from its mounted position there.

Anything that had the potential to kill you deserved to be respected, if only grudgingly. But she knew that she felt more than respect for the naginata; a weapon in the use of which she had been trained since she was a child. Admiration would be a better description, although if she truly was to name the emotion as well as she could, she would likely call it affection.

There was a sense of comfort in the solid familiarity of closing her hands around the staff... of skillfully positioning her grip until the weapon was so perfectly balanced that it became simply an extension of her body. Security. Confidence in the fact that this deadly tool wouldn't hurt her as she led both it and herself into an intricate dance. And no one knew better than she just how deadly a weapon it was.

Her thoughts faded out as she closed her eyes and focused on the movement of her body. The morning calls of birds from outside followed, and soon, all she heard was the rustle of fabric against her skin and the soft swish of the ever-sharp blade slicing through the air.

Block low. Attack high. Evade. Cut. Those motions, along with their brethren, started out slow as always, and gradually picked up speed as the sun rose higher in the sky and sent its golden beams across the floor. Eventually, both blade and staff were a blur, as were her arms and legs as she moved through a series of kata that were as familiar to her as the act of breathing, only stopping when she felt the tell-tale, pleasant ache in her muscles that told her that she'd pushed herself sufficiently.

A glance at the clock on the room's wide wall told her that it was now slightly after 7. Her heart rate, she noted idly, was only slightly elevated from the vigorous exercise, and she gave herself a mental pat on the shoulder as she meticulously made sure that the weapon was cared for and set it back into place.

What, she wondered, as she closed the balcony doors and left the room once more, did Natsuki's fitness regimen consist of? Did the younger woman even have one, apart from chasing after the odd grade-schooler? Given the obviously fit state of her assistant's body, she guessed that she probably did. Her shoulders were a little wider than she remembered, and while Natsuki's frame – much like her own - simply looked healthy and fit rather than overly buff or bulky, there was more muscle tone to it than there had been during their high school years; most easily noticed in the way the younger woman walked and moved.

And a very nice walk it was, too.

_Oh, stop that_, she chided herself half-heartedly. _You aren't eighteen anymore, remember?_

But the heart never forgot, and she suspected that a part of hers would forever belong to the sullen, adorably shy girl she'd met that one day in the Director's garden. Even if that girl had grown up, just as she had.

_She isn't the girl you remember_, she reminded herself for the Nth time as she crossed through her bedroom and into the pale, salmon colors of the adjoining bathroom, absentmindedly freeing her hair from its bindings. _Natsuki is a woman now, and you need to recognize that and stop projecting your feelings for a 17-year old onto someone who is almost 24._

Hopefully, she considered as she studied her sweaty reflection in the mirror, that would become easier as she got to re-know Natsuki better.

But the attraction... Shizuru sighed and set about brushing her teeth. The attraction was something she would probably just have to live with. For that, at least, she couldn't blame herself too much. Natsuki, after all, was nothing short of gorgeous, and any living, hot-blooded human being would notice that.

Water splashed in the marble sink, then onto her face as she cleared the last remnants of sleep from her eyes. Then the large shower set into the corner of the room - a few feet away from an equally large bathtub – was turned on, and she let the fabric of her clothing settle on the edge of the tub before stepping under the warm spray.

Apart from the steady patter of the water and the occasional click of the airconditioning unit turning on and off, the house was silent. And that silence, she lazily reflected as she went through the process of scrubbing herself down, was something she was still getting used to. As was living on her own.

Even though the house had belonged to her family when she lived in Fuuka as a teenager, she had really made use of it very rarely; staying instead in the academy dorms. _Partially due to sheer indolence_, she admitted with a small smirk. Why travel miles when she could instead walk across the school campus and get to the main building in a matter of minutes? Living on campus had been easier; not only because she had eventually been the seito kaichou.

It had, of course, also made her more unusual extracurricular activities easier to keep up with. Any situation involving the HiME had tended to center around the academy itself, and racing across town by whatever means – her Child included - when something did happen just... wasn't practical.

After that, she had stayed at the dorms at Kyoto University for the six years she'd spent there, then moved back home for the duration of the last year. Dorm life had, indeed, been a good deal more noisy than life at the Fujino mansion in Kyoto, but even the large house up north had been filled with servants milling around at pretty much all hours of the day. And professional though said servants had been, she had always sensed their presence... even when she couldn't outright see or hear them.

Going from constantly having _someone_ nearby to suddenly having_ no one_ was certainly a change. A slightly disconcerting one, she privately admitted.

"But I believe," she told the frosted shower door softly. "That I shall have to adapt."

At least, she decided as she ambled through the house in jeans and a bra a while later, it also meant that there was no one to inadvertently scandalize. Not that any scandalizing she'd previously done had actually _been_ inadvertent, but...

Shizuru hummed softly to herself as she turned into the large, well-stocked kitchen and set about preparing some breakfast. Nothing fancy, since she did have to leave fairly soon, and it would, after all, not do for her to have to refuse anything that Yukimura-han's family might offer simply because her stomach was full.

But still, if she was so hungry that Natsuki would be able to hear her stomach growling on their way over... Well, that wouldn't do, either.

So with that in mind, she prepared herself a simple meal of brown rice and a bit of fish, with a cup of tea to wash it down with. She ate standing up, one hip resting against the cooking island in the center of the room while she watched the morning news on the small TV-set placed on one of the granite counters... and took care to not accidentally spill the hot food on her bra-clad torso. She'd learned that lesson the first time it happened, and wasn't in any hurry to repeat the experience of picking steaming rice grains out of her cleavage.

Her gaze scanned the ticker that rolled across the bottom of the screen while she idly listened to the anchor chatter on about whatever the station had deemed important that morning, and felt her eyebrows lift as the most recent stock market updates showed up.

"Ara, ara..." She felt her lips shape a sly smile and bit down lightly on her chopsticks. "Up two points, hm? Not bad... not bad at all."

A low, satisfied chuckle sounded as she rinsed her bowl in the sink and dried her hands off with a small towel. The TV was left on, and almost drowned out the sound of bare feet padding across the tan tile floor and into the hallway beyond. The laundry room yielded a few clean, ironed articles of clothing that she had yet to return to her closet upstairs, and she tugged a cream-colored blouse into place over her shoulders as she returned to the kitchen and filled her teacup once more.

The newscast had ended during her brief absence, she noted, but she still had some time to kill before her assistant was supposed to show up. And surely there were worse ways of doing that than watching old anime reruns.

Even if that was a bit childish.

Shizuru smirked and sipped her tea as she sat down on one of the tall stools next to the island. "Moon Crystal Power... Make Up!" she muttered right along with the television.

Exactly two cups of tea later, the episode was over, which left her with just enough time to rinse off the cup and poke her head out of a window to determine the temperature. The air outside was still cool, but it was the kind of cool that promised summer-like warmth later on in the day, so she snagged a light, pale gray jacket from the dumbwaiter next to the front door and shrugged into it, and only just managed to slip her shoes on before there was a knock at the door.

And really, she decided as she answered it and was met by the sight of Natsuki leaning comfortably against the doorframe on one shoulder, that leather bodysuit looked far too good on her. It just wasn't fair that her poor hormones had to deal with that kind of input this early in the morning.

But perhaps, she considered, it was possible to even the odds a little if she were to _really_ take in the sight of her assistant. Judging from her experiences with this version of her old friend, Natsuki wasn't very likely to outright take offense, and if nothing else, she should be able to get a blush and a scowl out of it. Maybe even a few embarrassed stutters.

And that potential prize was just too good to pass up.

She started from the top, as it were, and studied the smoothly sculpted planes of Natsuki's face... the small, warm smile of greeting on her lips and the few locks of long, dark hair that wafted in front of her on the breeze and obscured said smile slightly... the elegantly curved eyebrow that arched curiously at her silence.

Then came the slender neck that vanished beneath the collar of the bodysuit and trailed off into strong shoulders and long, tightly outlined arms. The one Natsuki was leaning on had curled across her flat belly, while the other hung comfortably along her side; its hand clasped loosely around the chin guard of a full-face helmet. Well, the grip was mostly loose, but had taken up twitching slightly since she'd begun her little perusal.

_I wonder why?_ She chuckled mentally, and quickly flitted her eyes back up to the younger woman's face. There was a definite, knowing look in Natsuki's eyes now, as if she'd figured out exactly what Shizuru was doing... or at least was close to it. And yet, there was only a mild hint of reprieve in those green eyes... no growl to stop her and nothing that indicated that Natsuki wanted to move and shield herself. Instead, the pose continued to carry the same sense of comfortable, almost arrogant confidence.

_Araaaaa..._

Now she was the one who had to fight off a blush. By now, Natsuki should definitely have figured out what she was doing – have realized that even she wouldn't spend so much time in studying her without there being an underlying sense of attraction. So why wasn't she stopping her?

_This just might backfire._

Shizuru considered that notion for a while, then shrugged her figurative shoulders and decided to throw caution to the winds for the time being. If Natsuki was willing to indulge her, then she certainly wasn't about to let the chance pass her by.

By the time her gaze had made its way along the entire length of the leather-encased body and back up to the younger woman's face, she found the light blush she had expected. But much to her surprise, Natsuki wasn't scowling. Instead, she had simply kept that one eyebrow raised and was... smirking?

"Take a picture," was the dryly amused comment. "Trust me, it'll last longer."

_Oh, dear._

Yes, that was definitely a smirk, Shizuru decided. And as she felt her own cheeks redden a touch at the teasingly flirtatious words and glanced off to the side, she saw it widen to a crooked grin out of the corner of her eye.

"Y'know something?" Natsuki chuckled and looked down to watch the toe of her boot scuff against the wooden porch below her feet. "It's pretty nice to be on the other side of this particular fence, for once."

"Ara?" Shizuru pushed past her temporary surprise and folded her hands in front of her. "I didn't know that Natsuki was a fence-jumper," she offered bemusedly, and took care to keep her voice as innocent as possible, even if she didn't bother to hide the twinkle in her eyes.

Ah, yes. There was the scowl she'd been looking for. With a groan as an added bonus.

"Honestly..." Natsuki sent her a half-hearted glare. "The second I think I've finally managed to one-up you, you just put another one over on me and unbalance the score all over again."

"It wouldn't do for Natsuki to get bored with me."

A snort. "Right. Like that would ever happen." The helmet was held out to her as Natsuki straightened and pushed away from the wall. "C'mon. If you're done ogling me for now, then let's get going."

Exactly when, Shizuru wondered as she took the helmet and locked up the house, had her old friend grown so comfortable in her own skin? The words that had just passed between them had definitely been from the 'flirting' category – friendly flirting, yes, but still... It was strange to see a side of Natsuki that was so in touch with such a subject. Not that she honestly minded all that much, even if it did mean that she'd have to work harder to earn any blushes down that particular path.

Thankfully, it also meant that she didn't have to be quite as subtle when sneaking glances at the younger woman from now on. And speaking of paths... She felt her head tilt a little as she watched Natsuki precede her down the short one that led from her front door to the curb. Or, more specifically, watched a certain _part_ of her do so.

A gloved hand moved into her field of vision and snapped its fingers twice in front of the object of her study. Then the index finger pointed skywards.

"Eyes up, Fujino."

Shizuru chuckled as the wind blew the dark hair aside and allowed her a glimpse at a conspicuously red neck. _That's another point for me, Natsuki._

And it really was a nice walk to watch.

-----

She loosened her grip on the leather-clad waist as she felt the bike slow down, then stop completely, and lifted her head from the strong back in front her to see a large, white-brick house next to the driveway they were currently sitting in.

_It seems we're here._Shizuru unbuckled the chin strap of her helmet and tugged it free of her head before holding it out to the woman in front of her, who wordlessly took it and hung it on one of the handlebars.

Natsuki had yet to make a move to remove her own helmet, and the CEO spent a few seconds wondering if maybe the younger woman wasn't a bit uncomfortable with their physical proximity. She really hadn't needed to hold on as tightly as she had, and she was quite sure that Natsuki was aware of that, deep in thought as she seemed to be at the moment.

It had been a temptation she'd been sadly unable to resist, though, after having spent so many years without even hearing her voice. And now she watched as her friend sat frozen in front of her, her neck bent slightly and her grip on the throttle tightening almost reflexively.

Shizuru thoroughly chastised herself as she dismounted the bike, and old insecurities came back to haunt her even in spite of their comfortable banter from earlier. Yes, it had felt good – wonderful – to feel Natsuki so close again after everything that had happened, but it really hadn't been worth upsetting the young woman over it.

In a lot of ways, Natsuki was exactly as she remembered her. Easily bored and easily angered if you were to push the wrong buttons, but also just as easy to calm right back down if you pushed the right ones in turn. Much like a mountain stream that roared after a heavy rain, but fell back down to a slow, gentle trickle before long. Cool and intense, and forever finding its own, obstinate way forward while growing ever larger, no matter how many rocks you laid in its path.

That was exactly what Natsuki had done, she realized as she stood beside the bike, mutely studying the colorful garden in front of her. She had grown in strength both physically and mentally... from an angry, distrustful teenager with no roots to speak of, to a woman who was set on her path and content with her place in the world.

And for a brief moment, Shizuru wished that she could have been there to witness the transformation in person.

"So this is Yukimura-han's home, hm?" She smiled, but felt it falter somewhat as the visor was lifted and a pair of inscrutable, emerald eyes pinned her to the spot.

Uncomfortably, she looked away. "Well... shall we let them know that we're here?" She turned to head for the door and heard the younger woman dismount behind her, but only managed to take a few steps before a gloved hand grasped her wrist.

Natsuki had removed her helmet, she noticed as she turned back around, but the expression on her friend's face was still as unreadable as it had been before, and a trickle of nervousness ran down her spine at the intensity in the gaze. "Natsu... ki?"

She felt the hand on her wrist loosen its grip and slide a little lower along her skin until the smooth leather was lightly clasping her own hand. "Akiko told me.... about the letter," the biker murmured as the green eyes dropped to watch their now entwined fingers. Had her voice been any softer, Shizuru probably would have missed it. "Is it true? You... you sent it to her?"

"I..." She tried to find the words. Tried, but failed as those eyes lifted again and she realized just how close the younger woman was. Even in the still-cool morning air, she could feel the heat from the sturdy body in front of her, and all she could see was clear, brilliant green.

"Yes." She was surprised at how steady her voice was. "I did."

Then another glove cupped her face, and she noticed how the scent of leather mingled with the scent of Natsuki herself... a mixture of the clean aroma of shampoo, a faint hint of spice and something that inextricably reminded her of the air on a cold, clear winter's night. And she forgot to breathe as soft lips pressed against her cheek, the contact gentle, but lingering.

"Thank you."

She barely felt the lips move against her skin as the whisper was emitted, but there was no mistaking the sensation of Natsuki's arms winding around her neck as she was pulled into a tight embrace. For a heartbeat or two she stood frozen in surprise, but then raised her own arms and let them curl around the younger woman's waist.

So the silence hadn't been because of the close contact between their bodies, she realized as she closed her eyes. Not if the hug she currently found herself in was any indication.

_You were simply trying to decide how best to bring that question up, weren't you?_ she silently asked of the woman in her arms. _Wondering how to do so smoothly, is that it?_

_Silly. _Her lips shaped a fond smile._ But I suppose you did figure out that I wouldn't mind your bluntness._

She didn't know if they stood there for a second or an eternity, as all she could focus on was the leather-clad frame pressing into her own and the warm sensation of gentle breathing against the side of her neck. Eventually, however, the younger woman pulled back, though her arms remained loosely wrapped around Shizuru's shoulders.

"Whatever you think your debt to me is," Natsuki was saying. "... consider it paid in full, with interest. I'm the one in yours now." A crooked smile pulled at the pink lips. "Except I don't think that I'll ever be able to pay you back for this one."

The executive felt her eyes sting as she rested her forehead against that of the other woman. "You don't owe me anything," she whispered, hardly noticing the fervent tone in her own voice. "If Natsuki is happy, then that's all I want."

"Obachan!"

They both turned their heads as the call interrupted them, and Shizuru recognized the child that came barreling down the path to the driveway as the little girl from the day before.

The arms around her shoulders gave her another brief squeeze, and then Natsuki quickly extracted herself from their embrace and reached out her hands as the smaller body outright took off from the ground and catapulted itself towards her. From the easy way in which she caught the girl and held on as both arms and legs wrapped around her, it was clear to see that this type of greeting was one she was used to.

"Hey there, Squirt." She was obviously addressing the child in her arms, but her eyes rested on Shizuru as her lips shaped two more words, though no sound came out.

_I am._

_Yes, I think you are,_ she considered as she watched Natsuki whisper something in the little girl's ear, resulting in a soft giggle from the child and an answering grin on her assistant's face. _ And if I somehow had a hand in making you that way, then this sight is the only repayment I need._

"Shizuru." A familiar voice broke into her thoughts, and she tilted her head as the younger woman shifted her hold on the azure-headed girl who had buried her face in her shoulder. "I'd like you to meet my niece, Yukimura Kaguya. Kaguya, this is Fujino Shizuru. She's a very good friend of mine."

Amiably, Shizuru bowed. "I'm very pleased too meet you, Kaguya-chin," she told the child with a smile, wasted though it was as the little girl didn't lift her head.

"Sorry," Natsuki muttered while she gently stroked her niece's back. "She can be kinda shy around strangers."

"Really?" She wasn't in the least bit offended... far more bemused. "I wonder what side of the family she gets that from? Certainly doesn't sound like anyone I know."

A faint, twitching smirk was Natsuki's acknowledgment of the verbal prodding, and the green eyes gave her a dry look before turning to the light blue locks that rested on the biker's collarbone. "C'mon, kiddo," she softly coaxed. "You gotta say hello properly unless you wanna be rude to a guest."

It took a few more seconds of her aunt's gentle nudging, but Kaguya eventually turned her head enough that she could peer out at the newcomer from under Natsuki's chin.

"Hello," she said quietly.

_Goodness._ Shizuru blinked as her gaze was suddenly met and held by a pair of very familiar-looking eyes. A soft chuckle drifted by on the breeze, and she glanced up and into a matching set of emerald-green orbs, which twinkled amusedly at her.

"Yeah, that was pretty much how my face looked, too," her assistant told her with a slight grin.

She looked back and forth between Natsuki and her niece a few more times, then shook her head slowly. "The similarities are uncanny," she commented. Really, it was no small wonder that she'd initially thought the girl to be her friend's daughter. Had she been close enough to see the child's eyes, chances were that even Natsuki would have been hard pressed to convince her otherwise. "Does Yukimura-han or her husband..." she began, but trailed off when the younger woman shook her head.

"No." Natsuki's voice softened as she settled the girl against her hip and watched her own hand brush a stray lock of hair behind Kaguya's ear. "No... she gets those from her grandfather."

"Ah." Shizuru recognized a sensitive subject when she saw one, and wisely decided against asking any further questions on that particular matter.

For now, at least.

"Aren't you getting a little too big to be using your poor old obasan like a set of monkey bars?"

Natsuki glared at the tall, blond man who was now approaching them, hand in hand with a shorter, dark-haired woman. "Who are you calling old, ya big lug?"

"Did I say old?" The man regarded the young woman thoughtfully, and gave the girl in her arms a wink. "Must've been a slip of the tongue."

"Uh huh." Natsuki shook her head, then turned to the executive once more. "Unfortunately, this 'charming' fellow is my brother in law, Yukimura Morio," she introduced with a roll of her eyes. "Only reason I put up with him is because he apparently comes part and parcel with Kaguya and her mother." She jerked her head toward the woman, whom Shizuru noticed was studying her surreptitiously. "My sister, Akiko."

Shizuru had to struggle to keep her lips from twitching into the amused grin they so desperately wanted to shape at the sound of the exasperated tone. But she managed – somehow – to maintain a polite, yet friendly smile as she bowed in greeting.

"A pleasure to meet you both," she offered. "Thank you for opening your home to me."

"Not at all, Fujino-sama." The woman – Akiko, she reminded herself – returned the bow, and her choice of honorific made her ears pick up slightly.

_Ah, that's true. They both work under me as well, don't they?_ she considered as she exchanged greetings and pleasantries with them, then fell silent and watched them welcome Natsuki, who had studied the proceedings of the initial meeting in thoughtful silence and now looked mildly disconcerted.

Hardly surprising, she decided, given the fact that if they were all going to stand on ceremony around each other the entire day, the visit would be stilted, at best.

_Well. _She watched as her assistant sat Kaguya back on her own two feet, then wandered off slightly with both the girl and her father in tow.

"Fujino-sama?"

There was the definite scent of a set-up in the air, the executive recognized bemusedly as she found herself left alone with Akiko. _Or as Natsuki would probably put it,_ she reiterated mentally_, 'I smell a rat'. But perhaps both Yukimura-han and I can get something useful out of this. Let me see..._

"Please, Yukimura-han. No need to be so formal." She gave the older woman a smile, and consciously allowed her mask to slip a little. "I'm not here as the CEO of the company, after all. Simply as a friend of Natsuki's."

"Shizuru-san, then?" Akiko waited for her to nod, then smiled. "I'm glad you feel that way. That should make what I'd like to tell you a lot easier."

She felt her eyebrows lift a fraction in inquiry, and was about to open her mouth and ask for clarification when she felt herself being pulled into an unexpected hug for the second time that day. _And it's not even nine in the morning yet,_ she realized, privately amused. _I think I'm starting to see exactly how Natsuki became so comfortable with physical affection, if this is how a stranger is treated here._

This hug was different from the last one, she noted, mainly because it wasn't nearly as tight as the embrace Natsuki had given her. There was also enough difference in the individual statures of the two women – Natsuki's frame was taller and of a more slender, though no less sturdy build - for her to be able to make an easy distinction between the two of them. Nevertheless, it was just as affectionate, and felt surprisingly comfortable.

For some reason, Shizuru felt oddly as if she'd just been invited to become a part of this little family. What was even more odd than that was that she didn't even consider turning the invitation down.

"Thank you," Akiko told her, and gave her shoulders another squeeze before stepping back. "For giving my family something that we didn't even know was missing."

Quite uncharacteristically, the young executive found herself at a complete loss for words. What did one say to something like that?

"You're welcome, Yukimura-han," was the best she could come up with, insufficient though it sounded even to her own ears. But the older woman seemed satisfied with it, at least.

"Please." She watched as a hand waved dismissively at her. "As you said yourself, no need to be so formal. Akiko is fine."

She nodded. "Very well. Akiko-han, then."

The sound of giggling caught her attention, and she glanced out across the lawn to see that her assistant had once again been relegated to monkey-bar duty, crouched as she was on the grass with a very cheerful child hanging onto her back like a baby koala. As she watched, Natsuki then rested her hands on the ground and sprang forward in a leap that reminded her of a frog, much to the delight of her niece, who squealed excitedly and rolled off upon landing, only to pounce on her broadly grinning aunt from the front in a game the two of them had obviously played before.

Natsuki was prepared, she noticed, as the young woman simply caught the girl under the arms and fell back onto the grass, settling the soles of her feet against the child's front and effortlessly hoisting the small body into the air with the use of her legs. She did a few presses that way while holding onto Kaguya's hands for stability, then apparently felt the gaze that rested on her and turned her head.

_I think_, Shizuru considered, _that maybe I gave her more than I even realize._ A strangely sobering, though no less heartwarming thought struck her as Natsuki grinned at her, then returned to playing with her niece under the amused regard of the child's father, who was standing off to one side and shaking his head slowly. _She never did get the chance to be a child for long, did she? But I think she has the opportunity now... to make up for lost time._

And the knowledge that she'd played a part in that – however small that part was – made her feel incredibly good.

"Why?"

Akiko's voice stirred her out of her contemplations, and she faced the older woman again as she pondered the question.

"Because she deserves happiness," she eventually said. "Not solitude."

"Oi!" The sharp cry of surprise made both of them turn their heads. "Put me down, you idiot!"

Shizuru bit the inside of her lip to stifle her laughter. Morio had apparently snuck up behind the biker and lifted her up by wrapping his arms around her waist, and as she watched, he proceeded to toss the young woman over his shoulder as though she were no more than a sack of flour.

"Ack!" Dark hair fanned out in the breeze as the man then spun around in circles, his deep laugh easily carrying over the short distance as he playfully fended off his giggling daughter.

"For crying out loud, Morio!" Natsuki's hands thumped against the broad back she was facing. "I don't care what my sister's been telling you, your butt is _not _that nice to look-- nonono, bad idea, Brat." Her voice grew noticeably more alarmed. "Kaguya, I don't think you sh-- Yahh!"

Kaguya had – in what Shizuru deemed to be a remarkable show of sisterly solidarity – resolutely wrapped herself around her father's legs, knocking the tall man off balance and sending all of them tumbling onto the grass in a pile of wildly flailing arms and legs.

She heard a sigh from her left hand side.

"Kids." The executive had to chuckle at the exasperatedly amused tone in Akiko's voice as they watched the two other females turn on the man with gleeful ferocity. "I have three of them."

_-----_

It had certainly been an interesting day so far, Natsuki decided as she stood by the sink next to her sister and peeled carrots, of all things, while Akiko diligently chopped her way through an assortment of other vegetables. Behind them, Morio had busied himself with a knife, cutting board and a slab of meat, which he was meticulously slicing. Lunchtime was approaching fast, and she'd been roped into helping with the preparations rather than continue hanging out in the back yard with her friend and her niece.

Initially she'd objected, which had been an incredibly bad idea, because Akiko had no qualms whatsoever about embarrassing her in front of _anyone_, let alone a woman who had seemed to click right into place in the small household within a matter of hours.

So she'd ended up being dragged into the house by her ear – much to her own chagrin and Shizuru's thinly veiled amusement – but she found a small sense of victory in the fact that she at least hadn't blushed. And in the fact that Kaguya had grown comfortable enough around the executive to playfully use the woman as a shield to hide from her mother. She'd had to smile at the sight, although the insistent tugging on her ear had quickly turned it into a grimace.

Which in turn had made Shizuru laugh and send her a playful wink as she laid an arm around the child's shoulders and waggled her fingers at her.

And that, she considered as she picked up another carrot and turned it over while studying it pensively, was probably the most interesting part of this very interesting day. The flirting. The appreciative glint that had started showing occasionally in the executive's eyes when the red gaze landed on her.

She didn't really mind it. Had, in fact, done nothing to shy away from the very thorough 'elevator-look' she'd gotten that morning at Shizuru's front door, and thus ended up raising the bar for what was considered acceptable conduct between the two of them. It had surprised her a little at first just how comfortable she was with it, given how the lingering glances she sometimes got from strangers in the street tended to irk her. But when she had thought about it... well, Shizuru was her friend. So what was wrong with a little friendly flirting?

_Not a thing,_ she decided with a small smile. Their recent interactions had certainly made the executive more relaxed around her, which was something Natsuki was only glad of. Besides which, she wasn't so blind that she couldn't see that the older woman was nothing short of stunning, and the thought of someone who was that good-looking finding her attractive...

Well, it was flattering, honestly.

"Ne, Imouto," came Akiko's amused voice from next to her. "If you keep staring at that carrot so intently, you'll make Shizuru-san jealous."

Of course, every ray of sunlight had to cast a shade somewhere, Natsuki decided as she rolled her eyes skywards and heard her brother in law snicker. And this recent development had given her older sister a whole new subject to tease her about.

"Oh, shut up." She gave the twinkling brown eyes a glower and went back to her peeling. "I told you... there's _nothing going on._"

"Could've fooled me," came the playful reply. "The two of you certainly looked cozy before Kaguya interrupted you this morning."

"For the millionth time, I was just saying thank you."

"Is that what they're calling it now?" Morio interjected. "I'll have to do something nice for your sister so she can 'thank' me properly later on."

Natsuki growled and waggled the peeler at the smirking man, feeling slightly vindicated when a bit of carrot-peel came loose from the metal and landed squarely on his cheek. "That was _way_ more than I needed to know, big guy."

"Oh, I beg to differ." Morio glibly picked the soggy peel off of his own cheek and deposited it on her nose instead, which earned him another growl as she yanked it right back off. "When it comes to that, there is no such thing as too much information." He grinned. "I have a feeling you'd need all the help you can get."

Natsuki wasn't quite sure, but she had a feeling that the subject had shifted beyond hugging and kissing. She also got the distinct impression that she should probably be offended. Before she could act on that impression, however, she heard the familiar, rapid patter of feet speeding down the hall.

"No running in the house!" Akiko called out just as Kaguya skidded through the doorway.

"Sorry, Mama." The girl had the good grace to look apologetic, even if she couldn't keep it up for all that long. "But Fujino-san said that she'd play video games with me, so can Natsuki-obasan come too?"

"Excuse me?" Natsuki felt her eyebrows lift. "Since when did I lose the right to decide that kind of thing for myself?"

"Presumably since you agreed to help with preparing lunch," came the reply from a few feet behind Kaguya, where Shizuru was now leaning against one side of the doorway; arms folded and a small, amused smile on her lips.

"I did _not_ agree," Natsuki reminded her boss. "I was coerced."

"After which you agreed," her sister pointed out.

"You were about to pull my ear off!"

"Oh, details." Akiko waved a hand at her. "In any case, you _did_ agree. Eventually."

"Grr."

Sadly, the only effect that her best growl had was to draw laughter from the others in the room. Or in Kaguya's case; giggles. _I get no damn respect around here._

Still, she wasn't truly upset, and she supposed that it probably showed somehow.

"Tell you what…" Natsuki shifted her glance from her niece to her sister and back again. "I'll come play with you and Shizuru once I've finished helping your Mama and Papa."

"But, Obachan..." Kaguya looked at her sadly.

_Oh, crappers... I know that pout._ Natsuki watched her niece's lower lip poke out in a very familiar manner, and couldn't decide if she should cringe or just snicker hysterically. Caught as she was between those two reactions, she settled for raising her head and meeting a pair of wide, innocent-looking crimson eyes with a scowl.

"What the heck have you been teaching her?" She pointed a half-peeled carrot at the giggling child. "Trust me, that is the absolute _last_ thing she needs help with."

Shizuru grinned and wordlessly waggled her pinky at her, and she heard Morio's deep, soft laugh from behind her, which her sister joined in on.

Natsuki rolled her eyes. "Yes. Yes I am," she confirmed. "Which is exactly why _you_..." This time the carrot pointed at the executive and bobbed up and down a few times. "... don't need to give her any extra ammunition to work with."

Her boss chuckled, and apparently decided to change the subject while she was still ahead of the game. "Is there anything I can help with?" she instead asked.

"Nope," Natsuki replied before her sister even got a chance to open her mouth. "You're a guest, and as such don't get to do anything but enjoy the fruits of our labor."

A mild, crafty look entered the crimson eyes. "Ara, really?" Shizuru wondered aloud. "But isn't Natsuki a guest, too?"

She set the peeler down and dried her hands on a nearby towel, then plodded over to the doorway, grabbed the executive by the shoulders and turned her until she faced the hallway. "I'm family," she told her. "I don't count. So scoot." A light push. "Go play games."

Another chuckle. "As you wish." The executive turned her head and held a hand out. "I'm fairly certain that Kaguya-chin can tutor me in that area, can you not?"

"Yup!" the child cheerfully agreed, bounding over and taking the outstretched hand. "Don't worry, Obachan," she then told her aunt seriously. "I'll take good care of her."

Natsuki felt the smile want to come forth and let it, ruffling the soft, azure locks with one hand. "I know, kiddo. Have fun, alright? I'll join you as soon as I can."

"Okay." Kaguya amiably began leading – or dragging, rather – a very bemused CEO down the hall. "We'll start with Guitar Hero!" she called back.

"Alright," Natsuki responded, shaking her head as she headed back to the sink and claimed another carrot.

"She certainly didn't take long to warm up to Shizuru-san," Akiko commented from beside her.

She finished peeling the carrot in silence, then rinsed it, set it aside and grabbed the next one. "Most don't."

"Mm." A pause, where the dual sounds of blades clacking against wood were the only fillers. "Even you?"

There was the faintest of twitches at the corners of her mouth as she switched the peeler for a small knife and deftly snipped off the ends of another vegetable. "I'm the exception to a lot of rules, Nee-chan."

"And so modest, too," was the dry remark from behind her.

She pointed the knife over her shoulder, but didn't turn her head. "You hush, carrot boy."

They all shared a chuckle, then fell into companionable silence as they went about their individual duties. As the three of them sharing the task of preparing food was hardly a new occurrence, they moved around each other with ease and finished in short succession.

"Well." Natsuki dropped the last handful of carrot peels into the trash and set about washing her hands and rinsing off the sink. "That's that. Anything else I can do?"

"I think we can take care of the rest," Akiko told her as she claimed the rest of the carrots and started chopping them, too. "Go on."

She untied the plain, white apron that had kept her clothes from getting stained and lifted it over her head, but kept her hand on it for a few seconds after hanging it on a hook next to the refrigerator. "You sure?"

"Natsuki..." The brown eyes gave her a mock-stern look. "Out. Before I change my mind and have you clean the front porch with a toothbrush."

She snapped to attention and gave a sharp salute. "Yes, General!"

As she turned to leave the room, the end of a towel hit her in the seat of her pants and made her hop forward with a startled squawk. "Hey!"

"Is for horses," her sister told her. "Get out of here, will you? Go play with your girl." The teasing note in her voice made it painfully obvious that she wasn't referring to Kaguya.

"My g--" She turned on her heel and sputtered. "Wha... you... Shizuru is not my girl!"

Akiko hummed softly as she sliced the carrots.

"Oi!" Green eyes glared at the older woman's back. "Are you even listening?"

"Imouto?" She shifted her gaze to the side and met Morio's amused look. "The guitar is next to my side of the closet, as always."

Natsuki scowled, but took the unvoiced _'give up, already'_ for the sound advice that it was and stalked out of the room. "Meddling little..." she grumbled softly. "Telling me that... why, I oughta... such a stupid idea.... biggest pile of bulls--"

"Language," rang the sing-song reminder from the kitchen.

A sigh. "Yes, Akiko-mama," she called back, and picked up on the slight amusement in her own voice. Ah well. She knew better than most that there was no dissuading her older sister once she got a hold of some prime teasing material, and she supposed that Akiko could have latched on to her relationship with worse people.

Takeda from her days at Fuuka Academy popped into her head, and she felt her eye twitch sharply. _Mental note; don't ever mention him to Nee-chan,_ she decided as she crossed into the neatly tidied master bedroom and easily found the green and white electric guitar. _Ever._

She claimed the instrument with one hand and eyed the miniature amplifier that sat on the floor, sparing a thought for her own, larger one back home, which could produce a much more significant amount of noise than this little thing.

Which, she considered, was probably part of the reason that Morio had given it to her a few years ago... shortly after Kaguya had first figured out how to turn the dial to 'Max' at the most inopportune times.

_The gentle, slow notes of an electric guitar traveled over the expanse of the back yard from the wooden porch, where Morio was playing a children's song. He had pleasant singing voice and was using it to good effect, much to the delight of the young girl seated on the planks in front of him._

_It was another warm summer evening in a long series of them, and Natsuki enjoyed the peaceful setting as the music and Kaguya's laughter drifted over to where she and her sister were sitting on a pair of plastic lawn chairs with a small table between them. The table held a pitcher of sweetened tea with several ice cubes, and she took a sip from her glass before setting it down._

_She chuckled at something Akiko said, and opened her mouth to reply._

_BWOOONNGGG!_

"_Yahh!" Natsuki felt her world tilt as the way too loud note scared a flock of sparrows out of a tree in the yard behind them and set every dog in the neighborhood to barking frantically. She oofed as the back of her chair hit the grass, and heard her sister yelp in shock just as Akiko's arm jerked and emptied the contents of her glass onto her face._

_But at least the older woman managed to stay upright, she decided as she regarded the fallen, softly clucking pitcher laying next to her on the lawn._

_Slowly, she raised herself up on her arms and peered warily over the now vertical seat of her chair. Morio was sitting cross-legged on the porch with the guitar in his lap, and had the most perfect 'oh shit' expression on his face as he stared dumbfoundedly at the two of them. Next to him was Kaguya – one small hand wrapped suspiciously around the amplifier's volume knob while she studied the speaker with a look best described as utterly enthralled._

_In the very loud silence that followed, Natsuki shifted her gaze from her sister's lightly dripping form to Morio's wide-eyed face, and then on to the now excitedly clapping and laughing Kaguya._

"_Again, Papa!"_

"_Uh..." Morio blinked once. Twice. "Sorry, honey," he sheepishly told his wife._

_Next thing Natsuki knew, she was curled up on the grass next to her fallen chair, grasping her sides for dear life and laughing so hard that she could barely breathe._

"_Morio..."_

_Oh, somebody was in trouble, she managed to realize through her near-hysterical amusement. Knowing that it wasn't her only made her laugh harder, and the blurry quality of her vision told her that she probably had tears running down her face from the force of it._

"_That is the FOURTH time this week," Akiko told her husband as she picked up the now half-drained pitcher. "And that thing is out of here. Tonight. Before I end up dropping and breaking every dish and glass in the house."_

_An odd sound came from Morio's throat as he swallowed a laugh, but he couldn't quite keep his lips from twitching. "Yes, dear." His voice was half-choked from trying to hold back his mirth._

"_Obachan!"_

"_Humph!" Natsuki felt her lungs empty themselves rather abruptly as her excitedly giggling, four-year old niece landed on her back, but even having to spit stalks of tea-flavored grass out of her mouth couldn't make her stop laughing._

"_Kids... do the darnedest things," she somehow got out._

_That set Morio off. At least until Akiko poured the remaining ice tea – with cubes – over his head and down the back of his shirt._

"_Hey!"_

"_In sickness and in health, darling."_

_Then her sister started laughing, too._

Even now, the memory made Natsuki chuckle as she perched on the edge of the double bed in the room and idly strummed the guitar string by string. It had been a little while since her brother in law had last made use of the instrument if the slightly off-key sound was anything to go by, and she adjusted the tightness of the individual strings before trying again.

_Much better_. A satisfied smile came forth, and she rose to her feet and picked up the small amp before heading for the door.

-----

Rock, Shizuru privately considered as she sat on the edge of the single bed, generally wasn't her preferred style of music. But she had to admit that there was something appealing about the genre, even if she wasn't certain whether that appeal stemmed from the energetic beat of the music itself, or from the enthusiasm displayed by the young girl playing along to it. Perhaps it was a combination of the two.

It certainly was both an amusing and impressive sight to watch someone so young shift her hands as fast as this particular song required. And from what she had seen earlier, Kaguya was only playing on the second out of a total of four skill levels, while the executive was fairly certain that she herself would end up failing rather miserably even on the easiest level.

The song ended with much pixellated fanfare, and she had to smile as the girl let out a cheer at her success. "Well done, Kaguya-chin."

"Thanks!" The young girl grinned cheerfully at her and lifted the controller that hung from her shoulders slightly. "Do you want to try, Fujino-san?"

"Certainly," she agreed, much to the girl's delight. "But I would like to ask you a question first, if you don't mind?"

"Sure." Kaguya immediately removed the strap from her shoulders and put the controller away, then sat down on the floor in front of her and rested her chin in her hands, giving the executive her undivided attention.

Not many six-year olds would do that, she idly recognized. Especially not with the lure of such a clearly beloved game just feet away. A remarkably mature response, certainly.

"I was wondering," she began, folding her hands and settling them on her knees. "Kaguya-chin seemed very reluctant when we first met this morning, and yet now, you seem to feel very at ease around me. Your mother led me to believe that it's unusual for you to do this as soon as you have in my case." A pause. "May I ask why?"

The azure head tilted in a manner that made her have to smother a smile. Was that motion, she wondered, an inherent family trait, or simply something that the child had unconsciously picked up from the aunt that she obviously held in such high regard?

Oddly familiar eyes peered at her for a few seconds as Kaguya seemed to consider the question.

"I love Natsuki-obasan. You do, too," the girl then pronounced, and shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "And Natsuki-obasan loves you."

That... hadn't been the reply she expected at all, and Shizuru had to take a breath as simple words spoken with such innocent conviction hit her in a not entirely unpleasant way. "Is that so?" she murmured absently, and felt something prod at the back of her mind. Something about the mouth of babes, wasn't it?

Her choice of words earned her an odd look, as if the girl felt that it should be obvious. Perhaps it was. "Sure," she said. "When they said on TV that you were coming to Fuuka to work, her eyes got all wet. I thought she was sad, but she said she was just really happy."

_Wet?_ It took a few seconds for her distracted mind to translate the meaning._ Natsuki... cried?_

It was an unexpectedly revealing moment, and as the door to Kaguya's bedroom opened and the subject of their conversation entered, it made the executive regard her in a whole new light. The fact that Natsuki happened to be lugging around an electric guitar and an amplifier – which certainly wasn't anything she had seen the younger woman with before – only added to it.

"Well... isn't this a pleasant surprise?" Natsuki remarked as she bumped the door shut with her hip. "I was expecting to get blown down the hall from the force of the sound waves once I got here. What are you two up to?"

"We're having a conversation," Kaguya happily informed her aunt.

"Ooh, I see. I certainly hope you'll forgive me for intruding, then." The aunt in question grinned and sent Shizuru a wink as she put down her cargo, then took a seat on the floor and chuckled when she immediately found herself with a lap full of six-year old. "So what was this very serious, very mature conversation about?"

"We were comparing notes," Shizuru now spoke up, and did her level best to keep her lips from twitching. "About Natsuki's ticklish spots."

Both of the dark eyebrows shot up at this. "'Scuse me?"

"Yup." Kaguya gamely picked up the proverbial ball and poked her aunt in the side, giggling when Natsuki twitched at the touch. "See? There's one, Fujino-san."

"Ara, ara... it seems you're right." Shizuru rested her chin on her folded hands and let the small, mischievous smile come forth at last. "Can you find any more?"

"Sure!"

"H-hey!" An odd little grunting noise escaped the younger woman as Kaguya's fingers found another mark. "C'mon now... I'm not a walking enter-- ack!" Another poke garnered a squeak. "Entertainment system, here!"

Sadly – for Natsuki, at least – her words had no effect other than to make her niece search out yet more ticklish spots all the more diligently, and from her seat on the child-sized bed, Shizuru watched in amusement as the two of them eventually ended up wrestling playfully in a full-on tickle fight.

Part of her was tempted to join it. But another part, the one that was still drifting in a strange haze of wonder at the earlier revelation, drowned it out and made her decide to just bask in the warmth that those news had generated for a little while longer.

"Whew." The sudden, slight bounce in the mattress snapped her out of her thoughts, and she turned her head to see Natsuki sitting next to her. "That woke me up."

A quick survey of the room showed that Kaguya was busy near the shelving system that held the TV and the gaming console, apparently plugging in the amplifier. Natsuki, meanwhile, had reclaimed the guitar and now had it resting on her crossed legs.

"When did you take up playing that?" she asked curiously.

"A little over two years ago, when Junior over there first started playing Guitar Hero." Natsuki paused and tilted her head as she strummed two strings, then adjusted one of the knobs at the end of the fretboard slightly and sent her a wry look. "Didn't take me long to figure out that I play this a lot better than I ever could that. Kid kicks my butt every time."

Shizuru studied the game controller, eyed the five colored buttons, then shifted her gaze to the actual guitar that her assistant was holding and immediately gave up calculating the number of combinations possible on that.

She quirked a single eyebrow.

"Yeah, I know." The younger woman scratched the side of her neck sheepishly. "You'd think the game would be easier than the real thing, right?" She shrugged one shoulder. "I dunno. I think it's because there's just not enough buttons for me to keep track of, especially since given the interface, I always know what's coming up next. My mind ends up drifting, and the da... darn thing just falls apart on me."

Shizuru felt her face twitch into a smile. "It really is quite amusing how you change your way of speaking around her."

"What, not cursing?" Natsuki waited until she nodded, and then smirked. "Yeah, well... if she ends up picking _that_ up from me, her Mama's gonna do a lot-- ah, thanks, Squirt." She took the cord that Kaguya now held out, and plugged it into the guitar with a small, electric crackle. "A lot worse than just dragging me around by the ear."

The executive chuckled.

"Ready, Obachan?" Kaguya had the controller back in place against her belly, and was watching the two of them impatiently.

"Almost, kiddo." Natsuki dug a pick out of the chest pocket of her polo and used it to play a quick scale of notes. "Yup, good to go. Just stay away from the last set. I'd like to be able to actually use my hands for the rest of the day."

Shizuru took care to catch the child's eyes, and grinned as the girl immediately picked up on her unspoken words and pouted at her aunt.

"Oh... fiddlesticks." The light push against her shoulder only made her grin wider. "Stop teaching her that!"

Carefully, she schooled her expression into one of utter innocence, and heard Kaguya giggle. "Whatever does Natsuki mean?"

A deep, put-upon sigh. "Incorrigible." Natsuki shook her head. "Come on, Kaguya, pick a tune."

A series of chugging noises came from the TV as the girl agreeably scrolled through the list of songs and settled on one. Another noise followed, and the loading screen popped into place for an instant before the game itself began.

"Mm." The dark eyebrows lifted in approval. "Good choice."

Those words were the last ones spoken for a while, and Shizuru idly kept an ear on the music, though most of her attention was focused on watching the two people playing the game – each in her own way. While one was standing and facing the TV and the other sitting, head bent to the guitar in her lap, the expressions on their faces were absolutely identical. Mainly concentration, sometimes with a light furrow appearing between the eyebrows – and occasionally a brief scowl of dismay when one of them missed a note or a chord.

But for the most part, the music coming from the TV-set was in perfect concert with the clear notes flowing from the amplifier, and the executive spent a few moments watching slender fingers slide back and forth along the strings with deceptive ease.

_Remarkable._

She shifted her gaze to the younger of the two, and found herself wondering if perhaps she wasn't getting a glimpse of the girl Natsuki could have been if the Fates hadn't intervened in her life so cruelly.

_Truly remarkable._

The song came to a victorious close, and she startled slightly as Natsuki let out a piercing whistle of triumph.

"Yeah!" The young woman held up her hand, and grinned as her niece slapped it.

A knock at the door interrupted them, and Morio poked his fair head in. "What did the two of you end up naming the band in that game?" he asked curiously.

"Kiyohime."

Shizuru felt her eyes widen almost imperceptibly at Kaguya's reply, and flicked a glance at her assistant who, she noticed, was carefully keeping her attention trained on the strings she was idly plucking at.

For the briefest of moments, Natsuki looked up. Crimson met emerald for a half-second that still seemed to last a lifetime before the green eyes dropped and the faintest trace of pink appeared on the younger woman's cheeks.

_... Kiyohime?_

A squeal made her blink, and she turned her head to where Morio had picked up his daughter and slung her over his shoulder much like he'd done to Natsuki that same morning.

"I'll leave the two of you to your devices," he told them. "Squirt here and I have been commissioned to set the table, so if you'll excuse us." He reached up a hand and tipped the brim of an imaginary hat. "Ma'am." This to Shizuru. "Sir." That, with a twitch of his lips, to Natsuki.

Natsuki raised an eyebrow at him, and mimicked the motion. "Thick-headed old lug."

Mario snorted and ambled out of the room. "Don't forget to 'thank' our guest for her assistance," he called back over his unoccupied shoulder.

And for some reason - Shizuru felt her eyebrows twitch in curiosity - that remark instantly made her assistant turn scarlet.

"Shut ___up__,_ carrot boy!"

"Yeah, yeah." A chuckle floated down the hall and through the open door. "Everybody's a critic."

-----

**End notes:**  
Lordy, but that was a long chapter compared to the earlier ones. I make no promises as to whether or not I can keep that up, but I hope it'll help make up for the long break. 'Till next time, and Happy New Year. Stay safe, now.


	7. Strength of the Body

For disclaimers, please see Part I.

**Author's Notes:**  
First off, I'm sorry. I have been helplessly stuck on anything ShizNat for the past few months. I only regained my Mai Hime-dom bearings somewhat after a quick fic about the Girl Friends manga a few days ago.

In other news, I'm uncertain if the EEOC has any legal footing in Japan, but I was sadly unable to find an equivalent for it in that part of the world, though I'm sure there is one. If anyone knows the name of it, let me know and I'll change it. For those who don't know, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a US federal agency that deals with discrimination cases as well as claims of sexual harassment. I'm sure you can figure out which one of those Natsuki refers to later on.

Thank you for reading.

**A Million Reasons; part VII**  
Strength of the Body

* * *

When Natsuki opened her eyes that morning, she had to spend a few seconds looking around in sleepy confusion. While she took in the unfamiliar surroundings that she found herself in, her half-asleep brain apparently decided that now would be a prime time to reboot itself and remind her of exactly where she was.

___Right._ She yawned and scrubbed a hand over her face. ___Shizuru's place._

They'd ended up staying at her sister's house until way too late in the evening, and even though most of the extra time there had been spent with both her boss, her sister and her ever-attentive brother in law teasing her until her head was about ready to burst, it had been... well, fun, really. Shizuru had outright clicked into place as if she'd never been meant to fit anywhere else, and even the three-on-one 'Let's Make Natsuki Impersonate A Cherry' Festival that had followed that little revelation hadn't stopped her from enjoying the sight.

Too much, anyway.

It had been well past midnight by the time she'd driven Shizuru home, and due to her own fatigue, she hadn't exactly put up a whole lot of fuss when the older woman had invited her to stay over for the night. So here she was.

Natsuki pushed herself onto her hands in the dim, gray light of pre-dawn, and took a few seconds to quietly curse her inner alarm clock. It seemed that even when she could afford to sleep in, the early-morning habit that she'd developed since starting college refused to let her do so.

_Oh well. _She shook her head and slipped free of the covers, adjusting the sleeping kimono that Shizuru had kindly lent her the night before. If memory served her correctly, the owner of the house was even more of an early bird that she had become, and she really didn't want to imagine just what kinds of schemes that Shizuru could devise to wake her up with if she ended up sleeping for too long.

She shivered faintly in memory. Ice water and nice, warm beds really, truly did not mesh well.

___Speaking of that... wonder if she's up yet? _Natsuki ran a hand through her hair, the motion settling the dark strands into something that at least resembled order as she pushed the door open and peered into the hallway beyond. Silence met her, and she had only the barest of light to guide her steps as she quietly padded down the carpeted corridor in her bare feet. The door at the end was closed, and as she could hear nothing from the room on the other side, she deduced that she'd apparently beaten even Shizuru to wakefulness.

Well, there was a first time for everything, she surmised as she turned and wandered down the stairs. The only problem was that now she'd have to figure out what to do with herself until her host did decide to join the land of the living. Taking care of breakfast was an option, but she had no idea where Shizuru stored her supplies, and didn't really feel right in snooping around. If she remembered correctly, the preference for a warm morning meal was a trait that the two of them shared, and depending on when Shizuru woke, it would be a shame if anything she did make would end up going cold.

So that was out. Natsuki paused and drummed her fingers against the wall as she thought. But... her eyes shifted and glanced out of a nearby window at the expansive grounds outside... she could always work up an appetite for breakfast, couldn't she?

It was fortunate that she'd long since grown accustomed to keeping a fresh set of both regular and workout clothes in the compartment beneath the Ducati's seat, she acknowledged as she slid a pair of slippers onto her feet before ambling onto the concrete floor of the garage, where the bike was parked next to Shizuru's Toyota. Now, she gathered up both small bags and slung them over her shoulder before returning to the inside of the house and closing the door behind her.

A quick survey of the first floor soon yielded a comfortably sized bathroom, and she switched the kimono for a pair of deep blue mesh pants and a white tank top with practiced efficiency, then ran a brush through her hair and tied it back before wetting one hand under the faucet and scrubbing it over her face to clear away the last of her fatigue. A soft, sweet-smelling towel helped her dry her face, and she leaned against the counter on one hip as she secured a set of weighted bands on her wrists; then bent to settle a matching pair around her ankles. A low grunt of satisfaction followed as she straightened, and she decided to leave the remainder of her clothing behind for later use.

Off to the front door she went, where she slid off the slippers and traded them for the pair of sneakers that she'd forgotten to switch back out of before they'd left the Yukimura family home the night before. As she tied off the shoes, she wondered whether or not she should have uncovered her zip-up hoodie to ward off the morning chill, but once she unlocked the door and stepped outside, the air that met her was only mildly cold.

So that was alright, she decided while taking care to ensure that the door wouldn't automatically lock behind her. As long as she kept herself warm through movement, at least.

Natsuki continued around the side of the house; past the garage to where she'd determined the better part of the gardens to be. One hand absently slipped into the pocket of her pants and fished out a slim, battery-powered device with a sleek, black cover, and she clipped the MP3-player onto one side of her waist before slipping the earpiece into place. One only, because while she certainly enjoyed listening to music, there was also something about the sounds of early morning that she didn't want to miss out on.

Like the first chirping of birds. She smiled as her free ear picked up exactly that noise over the sound of her own feet against the neatly raked gravel path she was following. Not exactly the kind of thing that she'd have picked up on a few years ago, she idly reminisced as she inhaled the cool, clear air and tasted a faint hint of dew on the back of her tongue, but it was nice to lead the type of life that allowed you the time to appreciate the little things in it.

"Wow." She stopped and rested one hand against the side of the house itself as she turned the corner completely. "I'd hate to see the bill from the gardeners."

It was no wonder that this particular house seemed so far removed from its rear neighbors when compared to the other buildings in this neighborhood, she privately decided as she scanned her eyes over the expansive garden. From what she could see of the surrounding homes from here, Natsuki was fairly certain that Shizuru's property covered two plots of land rather than just one, which meant that the gardens attached to the home would be better described as 'the grounds'.

The area was shielded by tall trees of varying kinds on three sides, with the fourth being protected from curious eyes by the house itself. More trees were dotted around the large expanse of neatly trimmed lawn, along with meticulously kept flower beds. A narrow stream wound its way across the space about two thirds of the way to the end of the lot, separating the more Western-style landscaping from the traditional rock garden she could make out beyond the cheerfully burbling water.

"Hm." She made a note of the stone pathway that disappeared behind a grouping of trees a short distance in front of her, and glanced down as she turned on the music player and scrolled through her list of songs. "Very modern, but with a definite touch of traditionalism." Her lips quirked as she hit Play and settled the device back into place. "Just like Shizuru, I guess."

An energetic drum beat began pounding softly in her ear, and was joined by a smooth guitar solo as she pushed away from the wall and headed towards the path. The slow jog that she tended to start out with in order to warm up gave her plenty of chances to look around as the flat stones continued to lead her between the trees and – near as she could tell since her view of the garden was mostly blocked by them – along the edges of the grounds. Beyond the trees, she could see the stone wall that encircled all the properties in this part of town. Or rather, she could see where it was. The bricks themselves were hidden behind foliage; much of which was a type of ivy.

That struck her as a bit odd. The height of the trees should effectively block out most of the sunlight, thus preventing anything from really growing below them. But in spite of that, the pathway was surprisingly well lit even this early in the morning, and she could see no lamps anywhere that could explain it.

A curiosity.

Now thoroughly intrigued, Natsuki veered off the path and navigated between a few green shrubs until she reached the base of a tree that looked suitably climbable. She paused there, hopping slightly to keep herself from cooling down as she regarded the tall birch. The nearest branch was a few feet above her head, and she listened to the Korean singer crooning in her ear as she mentally plotted a path up along the trunk, then nodded in satisfaction.

The first bit was always the hardest part, she reminded herself as she crouched and jumped up, closing her hands around the branch and curling her arms with a grunt. But she took more than a little pride in keeping herself in the best shape she possibly could, and in this situation, it was as much the momentum as it was her own strength that allowed her to pull her body up and over the branch until she had her belly resting against the side of the white bark, with her palms braced against the top of the wood for balance.

One hand made a quick grab for the next branch up, and her fingers settled around the limb just as she felt herself begin to slip slightly. Natsuki, however, only chuckled triumphantly and grabbed on with her other hand as well, then pulled herself up once more until she could curl her legs and settle her feet on the first branch.

"Heh." She grinned smugly as she straightened, bouncing a little in place just to hear the leaves rustle. "Old obasan, my ass."

"Who's there?" The rough bark surprised her, and she glanced down at the ground below, but saw no one. "Show yourself!"

___Oh. Duh._ Natsuki rolled her eyes at herself and kept a loose hold on the upper branch as she took a few steps towards the wall that lined the property. Of course it had to be one of the guards outside. She pulled a layer of leaves aside and poked her head out into the open, only to be met with the sight of a buff, black-clad man standing on the sidewalk below with a gun pointed at her.

___Damn. _The green eyes widened. ___These boys play mean out here. _"Whoa." She slowly raised one hand, but instinctively tensed her legs just in case the guy had an itchy trigger finger and she needed to duck. "Careful where you point that thing."

The guard didn't move, but kept his own gaze firmly trained on her. "Step onto the wall and come down here," he told her. "Slowly."

"What?" Natsuki stared at him for a few seconds, a puzzled frown drawing her brows together. "Since when does climbing a tree get you held at gunpoint?"

"Are you Fujino Shizuru?"

A blink. "Hell no."

"Precisely." The man jerked the barrel of the gun briefly towards the ground before aiming it back at her. "So kindly come out here as this property belongs to her, and you are trespassing. I doubt Fujino-san would be climbing trees." His sneering expression told her exactly what he thought of that particular activity.

A dark eyebrow curved upwards. ___Bet she would if I asked her, you little.__.. _ But since mouthing off to someone who had a gun on you was a bad idea at the best of times, she bit her proverbial tongue and inclined her head before carefully making her way onto the top of the wall. She crouched and settled her hands against the thankfully flat surface, then pushed off and landed on her feet in front of the guard.

"Look..." Natsuki held her hands out away from her body and did her best to keep her annoyance out of her voice. "I'm not a burglar, alright? I'm a guest. Shizuru's a friend of mine."

The man holstered his gun with noticeable reluctance before grabbing her by the arm and marching her down along the road. "Then I suggest we go ask ___Fujino-san _if you are telling the truth," he growled. "Somehow, I doubt someone like you could ever be ___her_ friend."

___Oh, great__. _Natsuki shoved down the desire to break free and counter the rough handling with some of her own variety, and focused instead on walking fast enough that the man had to hurry in order to keep up with her. ___A fanboy. And an armed one with the manners and brain power of a Dead Sea snail, to boot__. _"By all means." A jerk on her arm made her stumble, and she gritted her teeth as she slowed down to match her unwanted companion's pace. ___Arrogant ass._

The guard's hand closed tighter around her upper arm as they approached the house, as if he was warning her to not run away, and she turned her head enough that he couldn't see her roll her eyes. Security was all fine and dandy, but seriously, who would break into someone's house disguised as a jogger? In ___this_ part of town? Natsuki had no trouble admitting to herself that she would've turned this guy into her personal punching bag long ago if it hadn't been for the other guards wandering around. Their eventual involvement would only lead to bruises on her part, and possibly a night or two at the nearest precinct.

Not her ideal way of spending the weekend, she mused as the man knocked on the door. So she'd be good.

For now, anyway.

The front door was tugged open, and Shizuru emerged onto the porch. She'd been up for a little while at least, Natsuki decided, judging by the gi and hakama she was clad in. Hardly sleepwear, even for a Fujino.

"Teema-han." The CEO bowed slightly to the guard. "What can I do for y--" The red eyes flitted to one side, and the lashes fluttered once as the gaze settled on her. "Ah. Good morning, Natsuki."

"Yo." Natsuki touched two fingers to her temple in a miniature salute, and took care to school her face into a dryly bland expression as she heard the guard's jaw click shut. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

"Indeed." Shizuru sent her curious look before turning a polite smile on the man next to her. "Is there some kind of problem, Teema-han?"

"Fujino-san." The guard had obviously been knocked off stride by the casual way in which the two women addressed each other, and took a few seconds to regain his mental bearings. "You... know this person?"

Natsuki sighed. Honestly, did he have to sound ___that_ surprised?

"Of course." The older woman smiled charmingly, though the look in the crimson eyes had grown a bit more steely after they'd flicked to the firm hold the guard had on her arm. "Kuga-han is one of my dearest friends."

"Ah..."

"...ha," Natsuki finished for him, albeit under her breath. His hold had slackened quite a bit, so she didn't have too much trouble tugging her arm free and plodding over to the door, where she crossed her legs at the ankles and leaned against the frame on one shoulder. What was it Kaori had always said?

___Ah, of course._

"Oi, Shizuru?" She waited for the executive to turn towards her, and tilted her head. "When was the last time you climbed a tree?"

A blink. "Well, I can't really remember," was the somewhat puzzled reply. "I'm not certain that I ever have, to be honest."

"Wanna try it sometime?"

"If Natsuki wishes."

"Great." She smirked at the now red-faced guard, and crossed her arms as she watched the man politely excuse himself and walk off.

_"__It's a waste of breath to get angry, Kuga-san." Kaori had smirked at her and closed one lime-green eye in a quick wink. "Besides..." A flash of long, white-blonde hair as she flopped back onto the grass. "... getting even is much more fun."_

_"__That line of thinking must be a family trait," she'd commented wryly._

_"__Yup." An impish grin. "But most of us are a bit more subtle than my dear cousin."_

"Natsuki?" The sound of Shizuru's voice pulled her from her recollections, and she turned her head to see the CEO holding the front door open with an expectant expression.

"Sorry." She pushed away from the frame and followed the older woman into the house. "Just thinking."

"Will wonders never cease?" her friend teased gently as she closed the door behind them. "And what on earth happened out there?"

"Mrf." Natsuki scowled as she pulled off her shoes and straightened. "The Last Action Hero back there..." She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder towards the door. "...stomped all over my last nerve and had UPS ship it to Backwater Village Capitol, South Nowhere."

"Doesn't one of those tend to exclude the other?" Shizuru pondered philosophically.

The younger woman felt her lips twitch. "It's not even seven in the morning yet," she related dryly. "I'm not exactly at my best."

"Ara." A calm smile as the wine-tinted gaze briefly traveled over her. "I take it you were out exercising?"

"That was my intention, at least," she admitted. "But apparently those guys get a little nervous when you start climbing trees in this part of town." She cocked her head at the older woman. "What about you? You look like you just stepped out of a book on the history of martial arts."

"Ah, such kind words." Shizuru waited for the green eyes to roll, and chuckled when they did. "I was unable to sleep any longer, and thus about to start my own morning routine," she then confided, and gestured towards the stairs. "Would Natsuki care to join me?"

"Sure." Her assistant amiably fell into step beside her as they climbed upwards. "With my luck I'll probably get arrested if I poke my head out of the door before nine, anyway."

-----

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Natsuki asked about half an hour later as she studied the polished, simple staff in her hands with a dubious expression. "I'm more of a hand-to-hand combat kind of girl."

Shizuru settled her naginata over one shoulder and considered the question. The two of them had just finished a very efficient warm-up session spent trading off on the various pieces of equipment in the gym, and were now standing in the center of the large room with their respective weapons, preparing for a sparring session. She'd convinced Natsuki to try her hand at the staff, but maybe it did unbalance the scale a bit when she was using an actual blade. "Would you prefer that I switch to a staff as well?" she offered. "Or at the very least a wooden naginata?"

That earned her a crooked grin. "No." Natsuki settled one end of the staff on the floor and leaned against it. "I figure you've spent enough time using that thing that if I don't manage to block in time, you can stop or divert your swing and not cut my head off."

The executive inclined her head in wry agreement. "Probably true."

"Me, however...." The younger woman went on as she straightened. "I'm worried that I'll make a badly rehearsed move and knock you silly by--" She swung the lower end of the staff into the air, and smirked when her boss neatly ducked under the blow and caught the weapon against the side of the naginata's blade with a solid thunk. "But maybe I shouldn't be."

"Perhaps you shouldn't," Shizuru conceded bemusedly as she settled her weapon back onto her shoulder. "But just in the interest of being fair... let's say that we work with these for a while, and then go hand-to-hand later."

"Fine by me." Natsuki hefted the staff in both hands and shifted her grip to better balance the heavy wood. "But don't get too enthusiastic if we end up grappling," she cautioned mildly. "I'd hate for you to have to face the EEOC on my account."

The young CEO coughed softly and sent a glance through the open balcony doors. Natsuki certainly was different in private as opposed to in public – like at the office. She'd initially noticed it the night before when the younger woman had given every bit as good as she got in regards to the pointed teasing from her family, but to have it aimed at her was – apart from the sly comment the morning before that – a new occurrence.

And one she'd better find a countermeasure against, she decided as she felt the light heat in her own cheeks and heard her assistant chortle.

"Hell, Shizuru," the younger woman commented. "That's twice is as many days. You're slipping."

"I suppose that I'm still getting used to Natsuki's more, ah... direct approach," she acknowledged diplomatically, and shifted the naginata into a fighting stance with a smile. "Shall we?"

-----

"I still say you cheated."

"I most certainly did not." Shizuru affixed a mildly offended look and gave her friend a stern glance. "You cannot expect to beat twenty years of experience with luck and brute strength."

From her seated position atop the kitchen counter, Natsuki gave her a wry look over a gently steaming bowl. "Not what I meant," she pointed out after swallowing. "I knew you were gonna kick my ass with the naginata. But in hand-to-hand? Come on!"

Shizuru chuckled at the indignant tone in the younger woman's voice and leaned back against the cooking island, selecting a piece of fish and cheerfully nibbling on it while the sound of the morning news churned softly from the small TV nearby. "Perhaps that was Natsuki's first error," she commented. "Assuming that I had no experience in that area."

"Yeah, yeah." Natsuki settled back against the wall and chewed another mouthful of her own breakfast. "But you wouldn't have won if you hadn't tickled me at all the right times. That's cheating."

"I prefer to think of it as making use of ___all_ of my previous experience."

A smirk. "I'm sure you do."

The sound of the anchor droning on in the background was the only thing to interrupt the comfortable silence that fell as they focused on their respective meals. Both were recently showered and dressed - Shizuru in pale gray slacks and a deep red top, and Natsuki in comfortably worn jeans and a black polo shirt – and were now taking the time to replenish some of the energy they'd expended earlier.

It certainly had been a productive couple of hours, the CEO decided as she closed her chopsticks around a vegetable and studied it. Sparring with her assistant had added a new level of challenge to her normal routine, and while she'd been careful due to Natsuki's inexperience during the time they'd actually used weapons, once they'd put them away, she had soon realized that in unarmed combat, the younger woman definitely had the advantage.

Perhaps she ___had_ cheated a little, she considered with a swiftly hidden smile. But it had certainly been both an enjoyable and efficient workout, and one that ended with them both having to take a few minutes to let their breathing even out.

"That was fun, though." Natsuki slid down in her seat a little, stretching her legs out and curling her toes against the edge of the cooking island. "Usually when I work out with someone else, I hit the pool with Akiko or Morio, or chase Kaguya around a park." She dug through her bowl and ended up with a bit of fish, which she neatly bit into. "If the last one can be classified as an official workout." She cut her gaze to the TV, and quirked an eyebrow as footage from a cosplay event was shown. "Well, now."

"Hm?" Shizuru looked up from the stockinged feet resting next to her hip, and turned her own attention to the TV.

Then she blinked. "Ara." She tilted her head slightly and studied the screen. "Well, he pulls it off fairly well."

"Mm." Natsuki bit the end of one chopstick and regarded the man on the screen with a critical eye. "I think he shoulda shaved his legs before putting on the fishnets, though."

"Perhaps." Shizuru gave the TV a bemused look and shook her head. "I suppose there were no disasters to report on today."

"Hn." Her assistant chewed thoughtfully. "The news are probably a pretty apt commentary on our society, if you think about it," she mused. "Either it's a complete war zone, or just people generally being silly. Hell on Earth or 'super happy wai wai'. Doesn't really seem to be any middle ground."

"Not on television, at least."

"Yup." Natsuki watched the footage for a moment longer, then turned her head to face her. "But yeah, the sparring was fun. We should do that again sometime."

Shizuru had been thinking along the same lines, and so merely smiled her agreement. "We'll have to see if we can work out some sort of schedule," she offered. "In the meantime, may I ask you a question?"

"You just did," Natsuki joked faintly. "But sure, shoot."

The CEO shook her head at the old joke. "I walked right into that one," she muttered, and used her utensils to gather up the last of her breakfast. "Why ___were_ you out climbing trees earlier?"

"_A_ tree," the younger woman corrected as she leaned slightly to one side and deposited her empty bowl in the sink. "Singular. It's not like I was running around the lot like a demented squirrel."

Shizuru almost inhaled a bit of rice at that mental image, and swallowed hastily before she ended up choking. "Very well." She cleared her throat and snuck a sip of tea from her cup. "Why were you climbing ___a_ tree earlier?"

"Well..." Natsuki crossed her arms and let her head fall back against the wall with a soft thump. "I was out on the path that... I guess it follows the edge of the property, right?"

Knowing which path she was referring too, the executive nodded and held out her bowl, which her assistant agreeably took and settled in the sink beside her own.

"Right." Natsuki wiggled her toes idly. "Anyway, me on the path. Jogging, music, bird song, good times." She sent a cursory glance out of the window. "But then I started noticing that with how low the sun was in the sky, there really shouldn't have been as much light as there was, you know? So I got curious."

"And climbed a tree."

"And climbed a tree," the younger woman cheerfully agreed. "And that's when your fanboy noticed me, called me out and stuck a gun in my face."

Shizuru froze with her cup halfway to her mouth. "Pardon?"

"Yeah." Natsuki grinned a little. "Surprised the hell out of me, but I can kinda see why he did it." She shrugged one shoulder. "He had no way of knowing that I wasn't some psycho with a gun of my own, after all. I mean... yeah, it pissed me off at the time, but I guess I can understand why he acted the way he did. It's his job to look out for that sort of thing."

"Well, that's certainly true," the CEO agreed. "But perhaps pulling out a weapon was a touch on the excessive side."

"Nah." The younger woman waved her off. "Shooting me out of the tree would've been, but ordering me down and onto the sidewalk? Eh." Another shrug. "Not really."

"Hm." Shizuru slowly drained her cup and let her mind worry at the information. Perhaps, she considered, it would be a wise idea to have a talk with the head of security and have the guards informed that Natsuki was allowed on the property - and in the trees growing on it – no questions asked. After all, she wouldn't want too many instances like this one to scare the other woman off from visiting again. A repeat of the company she'd enjoyed this morning certainly wouldn't be unwelcome.

And on that subject...

"Are you free for the rest of the day?" she asked after catching her guest's eye. "I know that you have school tomorrow and Tuesday. Do you need to do any studying?"

Natsuki scratched her chin and seemed to consider the question. "Hm... not really," she replied after a few seconds. "I usually take care of that during the week so I can have the weekend off." That dark head tilted slightly. "I do have a few more pages to read, but nothing I can't handle tonight. Why?"

"Consider it a selfish request," Shizuru admitted wryly. "I've enjoyed today this far, and so would like to extend it a bit longer."

"Ah." The younger woman's lips quirked. "Sure. Any plans?"

"Well, nothing concrete." She crossed over to the sink and set about rinsing their bowls and her own cup. "But I suppose I need to go shopping, so perhaps a trip to Tsukomori would be in order."

"Sounds good." Natsuki hopped down and snagged a small towel from a hook on the wall, slinging it over her shoulder and leaning back against the counter next to her boss. "Junior's birthday is coming up, and since I haven't bought her a present yet, I could probably do that while we're out there."

"Probably," the executive agreed as she finished the rinsing off and set about the actual washing. "Do you have any ideas as to what to get her?" A pause. "And when is her birthday, by the way?"

"June 15, and yes. They put out a new version of Guitar Hero that she's got her eye on. You can get the game itself, the game with a new guitar controller, or the game with a drum set, a microphone and the new guitar."

Shizuru glanced at her from the corner of her eye. "Something tells me that you'll be looking for the full set."

She got a low chuckle in response. "I'm her aunt," Natsuki noted. "It's my job to spoil her."

"And one you seem to greatly enjoy," Shizuru returned with a smile. Really, watching Natsuki interact with her niece had been one of the cutest things she'd ever seen. "Can you afford it, though?" she then prodded lightly. "I'm certain a set like that doesn't come cheap."

"Oh, sure. The bundle costs a..." A smirk. "Well, a bundle, but my bank account's pretty happy. I haven't had to dip into my inheritance at all since I started working for you. You guys pay almost ridiculously well, y'know."

The CEO nodded. "Company policy," she explained. "People who worry less about things like their personal finances tend to be happier, and thus more efficient workers. And the corporation is doing well enough that we can certainly afford to pay our employees more than a starving wage." She set one clean bowl aside, and sighed softly as her assistant deftly snagged it up. "Natsuki..."

"I know, I know." The younger woman eyed her. "I'm a guest. But I've already spent the night, used your gym, your water and eaten your food, so hush and let me dry the damn dishes, alright?" A dark eyebrow quirked. "If you're that worried, let's say you buy lunch in Tsukomori and call it even. Deal?"

"A lunch date with Natsuki?" Shizuru somehow managed to keep her lips curved in a charming smile rather than a wide grin as she watched her friend blush. "Ara, I feel so honored."

"I'll take that as a yes," Natsuki muttered, and studied the bowl she was currently drying. "By the way..." She turned the bowl over and held it out to her boss. "Missed a spot."

"Nitpick."

"Slacker."

-----

**End Notes:**  
For those wondering who Kaori is... you'll find out later. Right now, you're getting nothing out of me. I'll never talk!

And yes, short chapter. I figured I'd cut one part into two and get it out sooner, because I'll be busy with my grandfather's birthday present until late April/early May. _Have_ been busy with it, actually, but after three weeks of an average of three hours of work on it a day and me being only a fifth of the way done... Yeah. I'da gotten further if I hadn't messed up and had to redo large patches, but what's a girl to do?


	8. On a Sunday

For disclaimers, please see part I.

**Author's Notes:**  
Update – yay.

**A Million Reasons; part VIII**  
On a Sunday

* * *

"So." Natsuki closed the car door with a satisfying clunk and regarded her companion across the vehicle's roof. "Where to first, Captain?"

A small chirp sounded as Shizuru locked the doors, and only then did the red gaze rise to meet her own.

"Captain?" the executive repeated bemusedly.

"Well, yeah." Natsuki pushed away from the Toyota and fell into step next to the older woman as the two of them started the trek across one of the vast parking lots in downtown Tsukomori. "You run things at the office, you're my boss, you just drove us here," she ticked off on her fingers, and didn't even look up as she nimbly dodged around a couple of running children. "So... Captain."

A rattle off to one side caught their attention, and they both watched a somewhat harried-looking man as he wrestled with a stubborn shopping cart.

"You don't like it?" the younger woman then wondered.

"Ah." Shizuru glanced up at the expanse of clear sky above them. "No, it's nothing like that," she explained. "That form of address just makes me think of myself as... somewhat of a pirate, I suppose."

"Heh." Natsuki smirked and hooked her thumbs in her belt loops. "Arr," she growled in an appropriately quasi-piratical manner. "Thar be gold in them there hills."

The older woman chuckled. "I wonder..." She tapped a single finger against her chin in thought. "Would that make Natsuki my cabin boy?"

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," came the dry answer as the woman in question patted her own back pocket. "You could at least give me the position of first mate."

Her boss smiled and tugged her purse up a little higher on her shoulder, then stopped short as they reached the sidewalk. A variety of stores lined the street in front of them, and a fair eyebrow quirked as she settled her gaze on one in particular.

"How about navigator?"

Natsuki followed her line of sight, and was quick to recognize the name and logo of one of the bigger electronics retailers in Japan.

"My stuff first, then?" she hazarded.

"Yes." Shizuru brushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes as they crossed the street. "I believe a video game will weather a warm car better than groceries would."

"Mm." The younger woman conceded the point with a soft grunt, and extended her arm behind her to hold the glass door open for her boss as they entered the store. The scent of electricity and cool, climate controlled air greeted them, and Natsuki took a quick second to take in the new surroundings before setting off.

"Aha." She grinned as they soon found themselves surrounded by brightly decorated covers and chirping stands where they could try out an array of different games and consoles. "Land ho and plenty o' treasure."

A decidedly amused sound right next to her ear made her blink, and she turned her head to see a set of glinting, crimson eyes very close to her own as Shizuru peered over her shoulder.

"I think," the brunette noted quietly, "that Kaguya-chin might be a far larger influence on you than you are on her."

"Huh?" She did her best to ignore the sudden flutter in her stomach. "How do you mean?"

"Merely that Natsuki is very... playful, shall we say?" was the lilting reply. The executive added a small smile to the end of it, and stepped over to a nearby shelf to examine its contents with a nonchalant air. "It really is terribly cute to watch."

"Oh, shut up." Natsuki folded her arms and sent the older woman a squinty-eyed glare. "Pirates aren't cute."

"Perhaps not," her companion agreed mildly, and glanced up from her perusal. "But college students doing pirate impersonations certainly are."

"Pfft." She rolled her eyes and ambled closer as she saw Shizuru pick up a game and study it. "What's... ah." The dark head shook as she recognized the title of one of the more popular, romantic adventure games. "Figures you'd go for that type of mush."

"There is nothing wrong with romanticism," the older woman calmly informed her, and tapped a corner of the casing gently against her forehead. "Neither one of us would even be here if it wasn't for 'mush', as you call it."

One hand lightly batted the plastic cover away. "And here I thought it was the slaking of carnal desires that resulted in baby-making."

"Well… that too," Shizuru admitted. "But I don't see any games of that nature here."

"Nah." Natsuki sniffed and leafed through the available selection. "You usually have a better chance of ordering those onli--" She audibly clicked her jaw shut, and – very slowly– turned her head to see a set of highly amused red eyes peering at her.

_Arh, crap._

"Ara." Shizuru smiled proudly and clapped her hands together against one cheek. "Natsuki is all grown up!"

"Oh, my God…" The younger woman's blush made the green of her eyes stand out in vivid contrast – at least until she clapped a hand over said eyes. "You did _not _hear that."

"Oh, there's no need to worry," the executive told her in an entirely too cheerful tone of voice. "I wouldn't dream of telling anyone that Natsuki happens to be a connoisseur of the more, ah… _esoteric_ types of video games."

"Quiet," her assistant growled, and proceeded to study the back of a game cover so intently that the plastic almost seemed to shrivel. "It wasn't even for me."

"Really?" Shizuru set the game she'd been examining back into place. "Why on earth would you be buying games like that for someone else?"

"Because Nao wasn't old enough to buy her-oooh, forget it!" Natsuki threw up her hands and stalked off towards one of the test consoles. "I'm just digging myself in deeper. Where's that damn bundle?"

Shizuru chuckled and left her assistant to search for the item in question while she herself wandered off to a different section of the store. "And here I thought I had the monopoly on corrupting innocent minds," she mused quietly, and took no notice of the startled look that drew from a passing employee.

Then again, she wasn't entirely sure that Yuuki Nao could really be considered an 'innocent mind'. The one she remembered hadn't been much of an innocent in any aspect, although if she and Natsuki spent time together voluntarily now, perhaps that was another thing that had changed in her absence.

Life had gotten quite a bit more interesting in recent weeks – that was for certain.

She paused in front of a display that literally advertised 'Nerd Pocketknives', and felt a light tickle of memory at the back of her mind.

The latest conference call between the board members of the company had included a small discussion about the next _Kinro Kansha no Hi_; a holiday that centered on thanking workers for ensuring the prosperity of the nation, and as such, one on which Fujino Inc. traditionally presented its employees with a gift of some kind. Granted, that particular day didn't roll around until late November, but it was always good to start gathering ideas in advance.

Shizuru claimed one of the small boxes from the stand, and turned it over in order to scan the writing on the back of the package. Since she couldn't exactly classify herself as someone who truly understood the nuts-and-bolts aspect of the technology that kept their offices running, there were a few functions of the tool that she wasn't certain of. Regardless of her own ignorance, one of these boxes would probably make a far more useful gift to their Operations employees than a gift certificate. She'd have to ask one of their Ops managers to take a look at the product and verify it for her.

The box was put back into place, and she tugged a small notebook from her purse and copied down the product name and ID while silently lamenting the fact that she had left her PDA charging on her desk at home. True, her laptop was safely stored beneath the front seat of her car and could be used to send a mail to Nitora-han later, but it would have been more efficient if she simply could have done so right now without having to lug around an extra bag.

PDA's were very useful little things in that respect, she decided. Even if her own model was slightly out of date.

That reminded her of something else, and she shot a quick glance over her shoulder; easily spotting the dark hair she was looking for. Natsuki was standing almost at the opposite end of the store and seemed to be conversing with one of the employees; her arms folded loosely and her posture projecting a very no-nonsense air.

Much like how she looked whenever she accompanied the executive to a meeting, Shizuru noted. At least for the first five minutes.

One thing she'd quickly learned about her assistant was that Natsuki was the owner of a very restless mind, and with that, a sometimes incredibly short attention span. If you wanted her input on something, you presented the problem to her in short, concise terms, and she could provide you with her answer sometimes in a matter of minutes. Give her a presentation to watch or place her in a drawn-out discussion, however, and her mind would invariably wander off to greener pastures as it grew bored with the monotony of it.

Recently, Shizuru had started to schedule the lengthier meetings for Mondays and Tuesdays – when Natsuki was attending her classes and wouldn't end up distracting her own attention to the proceedings by fidgeting. Thus far, it was working like a charm. She hadn't heard the younger woman agitatedly curse about 'wasting time and resources' for several days, which was a feat in itself.

She did, however, miss having the familiar presence at her side during those meetings. And that was a distraction all on its own.

So she'd have to find a way to kill two birds with one stone, as it were. Something that would enable Natsuki to sit through long conferences without twitching every two minutes. And a small, handheld device that could be synched with not only her assistant's work computer but her home system as well... that might just be the solution to that little problem.

If Natsuki had a PDA of her own, she considered as she ambled over to a glass-encased display as tall as she was and studied the models set up within, she'd be able to actually do something aside from impatiently waiting for the meeting to end. So...

"May I help you, ojou-san?"

"Ah." Shizuru gave a smile to the hopeful-looking young man who had approached her. "I'm looking to purchase one of these." She indicated the case with one hand. "Preferably one from the higher end of the spectrum that supports a variety of file types and has a fairly large storage capacity."

"Of course." He inclined his head in agreement. "We have quite a few models that fit those requirements, so if you don't mind, can I ask a few questions to narrow the selection down?"

"Certainly."

"Let's start from the top, then." He ran his eyes over the case. "Color display?"

"Yes."

"That scratches off quite a few," he noted with a smile. "Games?"

"Provided it has an option to disable the sound, absolutely." Even if a sudden, loud noise would undoubtedly liven the conference room up by quite a bit.

"Wi-Fi?"

"Definitely."

"GPS?"

Here, she shook her head. "Not necessarily."

"Touchscreen?"

"Preferably."

"Alright." He tugged a set of keys from his belt and unlocked the door to the display, then paused as he made to pull it open. "Oh, I'm sorry. Price range?"

She smiled. "No object."

That earned her a wholehearted grin. "You're the ideal customer so far, ojou-san," he informed her cheerfully.

Shizuru chuckled. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Exactly how it was intended," he noted. "Now..." He reached inside the case and removed a sleek, black device, which he handed over to her. "I'd recommend this model. It's capable of high-speed Wi-Fi and comes with the most recent edition of both Windows Mobile and Office. You can open, transfer and create Word and Excel-compatible files, and it supports PDF, ZIP, PowerPoint and several other types."

"I see." She removed the attached stylus and tapped her way through the menu. "And on the less serious side?"

He cocked his head. "As I recall, it has three games already installed and more available for purchase at the developer's website." A pause. "It has GPS, a messaging system similar to the one used in cell phones, and comes with... ah, a sixteen gigabyte memory card, I think. Larger ones are available, though."

The executive nodded, and was honestly quite tempted to buy one for herself, as well. But as it was, there was nothing wrong with her current model, and while she was far cry indeed from having to worry about her finances, she was still loath to spend money on things she didn't truly need.

She snapped the stylus back into place with a click. "I'll take it."

"Wonderful." He reclaimed the demonstration model with a smile and put it back, then locked the display once more. "If you'll wait by the register over here, I'll get one from our store room and get you processed right away."

"Please take your time," she told him, and waited for him to wander off. Once he had, the sound of a familiar pattern of footfalls caught her attention, and she turned her head to see Natsuki plodding closer; one hand closed around the collar of the jacket she'd slung over her shoulder.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" she asked.

"Yup." The younger woman leaned against the counter next to her. "These guys even offer free delivery once you spend a certain amount, so it looks like we won't have to lug the box around." The green eyes shifted to take in the nearby merchandise, and a dark eyebrow cocked. "What about you? Giving in to the lure of consumerism already?"

Shizuru felt her lips quirk. "You could say that," she admitted, and turned as her new friend rejoined them.

"Huh." Natsuki peered at the narrow box the young man put down. "I thought you already had one of those."

"I do." The executive passed a credit card to the clerk with a smile. "But Natsuki doesn't."

"Wh--" A sound that was a cross between a choke and a cough, and she caught her assistant's eyes widening to an almost comical degree from the corner of her own. "Shi-- are you nuts?!" Natsuki pointed incredulously at the packaging while the clerk blithely worked his way through the transaction. "That thing costs a small fortune!"

"Considering the fact that I haven't bought Christmas or birthday presents for you in several years, it isn't that large an amount," Shizuru commented as she signed the paper presented by the young man, then passed it back over in return for her card and the box itself, the latter of which she held out to her friend. "And it is very rude to refuse a gift, isn't it?"

"Ye... bu..." Natsuki was staring at her almost helplessly, and looked oddly like a fish out of water. "God," she finally muttered, and covered her eyes. "You're impossible."

"So you seem fond of telling me." She bumped the end of the package against the younger woman's stomach and tilted her head; idly aware of the clerk's amused regard. "Well?"

"Mrf." Her assistant accepted the box with a mild, reproachful glare. "Thanks." A pause, as she turned it over in her hand. "And I'll get you for this."

"I look forward to it." Shizuru bowed lightly to the clerk, who really was doing an admirable job of keeping a lid on his mirth. "Thank you for your assistance."

"Not at all, ojou-san." He sketched a return bow. "Enjoy your day."

The two of them left the store again in companionable silence, and this time Shizuru was the one who held the door for her assistant, whose attention was so firmly focused on the box in her hands that she seemed liable to plow right into the glass surface otherwise.

_Well_. The executive paused as they emerged back into the sunshine and watched with an idle sort of amusement as Natsuki leaned against the side of the building and proceeded to intently study the manual for the new device.

"That took less time than anticipated," she noted.

"Yeah." Natsuki glanced at her watch. "We're gonna have to figure out something to do until lunchtime."

"I meant in regards to how long it took for you to actually open the box."

"Oh, shut up." The younger woman blushed. "You gave me the damn thing – don't poke fun at me for trying to figure out how to use it."

"Ara." Shizuru clasped a hand to her chest. "Would I really do that?"

Her response was a narrow, green glare that conveyed the answer more clearly than words ever could.

She had to laugh. "Natsuki knows me too well, I think."

"Well enough to know that you'll take any chance to tease me, anyway," her assistant muttered as she slipped the manual back inside the box.

"I wouldn't go so far as to say _any_ chance," the executive demurred as she glanced around in hopes of finding something for the two of them to spend their time on. An opening café a bit down the street caught her eye, and she spent a few seconds watching the workers set up a collection of outdoor tables.

"Natsuki." A smile as she turned back to her companion and watched the dark head tilt in question. "Would you perhaps want to sit down for a while?" She gestured towards the café, and the green eyes flicked over the set-up. "If you wish, you can borrow my laptop in the meantime and connect to your office account."

"I've been there before," Natsuki noted with a quirk of an eyebrow. "They don't have a hotspot, and even if they did, wouldn't be a little iffy to sign in to our intranet through an open connection?"

"Tsk." Shizuru shook her head and gave the younger woman's sleeve a light tug. "Ye of little faith. Weren't you the one who convinced me to get a cellular card just a few days ago?"

"Oh." Her assistant fell into step next to her as the two of them headed back towards the parking lot.

The card in question, when inserted into a compatible computer, provided high-speed, wireless Internet access in and of itself and – thanks to a little clever finagling by the Ops department – also very high encryption levels. The fact that the CEO's card would come with more protection than you could shake a stick at was obvious, since Shizuru's position meant that she had access to pretty much everything within the firm's huge, internal network.

So far, she hadn't even bothered with ordering a cellular card, but as Natsuki had pointedly told her:

"_It doesn't matter how well-prepared you are, or how much you print out, transfer or whatever. At some point, your PDA's gonna die, your laptop's gonna crash, or you're gonna miss one single document that you really need and have no way of getting your hands on it in time, because that's how life works. And once you're knee-deep in shit, you're gonna be wishing like hell that you'd brought a shovel to dig your way out of it. Better safe than sunk."_

And that, the CEO had admitted, was certainly true.

"Yeah, I did, but..." A pause as they both ducked around a hurrying pedestrian heading in the opposite direction. "You got that already?"

"And here I thought you were a quick study," the older woman teased, and felt her face crease into a slight grin when Natsuki huffed. "Haven't you learned by now that one of the perks of being a CEO is almost instant access to all the best toys?"

"Uh huh." A sideways glance. "Apart from the ones that are actual handheld devices, apparently."

Shizuru gave her a look as she unlocked the car. "There is nothing wrong with my current model," she noted, and leaned in through the open front door to retrieve the narrow bag containing her laptop.

"Maybe not," Natsuki agreed as she slung her jacket onto the passenger seat, then stepped back to let the older woman do likewise. "But it's not exactly one of the 'best toys' anymore, is it?"

"Well..." Shizuru handed the case over and pulled a clip from her purse, then bent her neck and regarded the younger woman from below her eyelashes as she put her hair up in deference to the warm weather. "Perhaps not," she admitted. "But it is perfectly capable of doing its job."

"So was the guy who got caught doing naked aerobics in his office."

The executive chuckled and locked the Toyota back up. "True." She accepted the box her assistant held out; slipping it into her purse so Natsuki could have at least one hand free. "But I daresay that my PDA is quite a bit less likely to start jumping around the building with male genitalia out for all and sundry to see."

Natsuki cringed visibly. "God..." she groaned. "What a mental image."

"Isn't it, though?"

"Ew."

Silence fell between them, and Shizuru was hard pressed to contain her amusement as she noticed how Natsuki kept giving her head short, abrupt shakes at odd intervals, almost as if she was trying to dislodge something.

"Still stuck, is it?" she asked a few minutes later as they took their respective seats at one of the outdoor tables.

The younger woman looked as if she'd smelled something remarkably unpleasant, and set the case down on the table with a grunt. "Damn you," she growled. "And stop laughing."

"Kanin na," the executive giggled, and glanced up when a waitress approached them.

"Tamaryokucha?" Shizuru inquired and – on seeing the girl nod in agreement – turned to her assistant. "Natsuki?"

"Iced coffee," the woman in question replied, and waited for the waitress to wander off again before she unzipped the case.

"Seriously," she then went on as the machine booted. "You could drink hot tea during a firestorm. How can you stand it?"

"Habit, I suppose." Shizuru leaned back and settled one knee over the other. She watched one slender finger trace over the empty slot on the side of the computer, and smiled when Natsuki looked up in question. "There's a pocket in the top lining."

"Ah." Another zipper was undone, and she heard the sound of the dust-proof, protective cover being opened before Natsuki slid the card itself into the laptop with a soft _shhk_. "C'mon, c'mon..." Her fingers moved over the keyboard with a clatter. "Log in, you stupid..."

The executive smothered a smile at the impatient display, and wordlessly set the box containing her assistant's new gadget down on the table next to the computer. She spent another few moments watching Natsuki type and mutter to herself; the dark head only lifting briefly when the waitress returned with their drinks.

And speaking of heads... there was a remarkably familiar-looking one weaving its way closer to the table they were seated at. Or – more specifically – closer to the back of Natsuki's chair.

Once the figure realized that she was watching, one hand quickly lifted in a silencing motion, and while Shizuru felt one of her eyebrows arch in curiosity, she remained impassive otherwise. Natsuki, she noted, was too engrossed in switching from the laptop to the PDA and back again to notice anything herself, and so the executive calmly folded her hands around her cup and waited.

"Hyaah!" Long, navy hair went flying as Natsuki jumped to her feet and twirled, and Shizuru had to close her teeth firmly on the rim of the cup to keep from bursting into helpless laughter. "What the hell was that for?!"

Tokiha Mai sniffed and unfurled the magazine she'd used to whack her friend in the back of the head with. "That," she noted. "Was for dropping off the face of the earth and not returning any calls or texts for the past two weeks."

Natsuki grunted and set her hands against her hips. "Last time you did that, I'd only been out of reach for two days," she growled.

"You know something?" Mai rolled the glossy paper back up and whapped her again - this time on the shoulder. "You're absolutely right."

"Hey!" Natsuki held up her hands and did her best to block the next whack. "Stop it!"

"Four, five, six..." the redhead blithely counted off as she continued to discipline her friend. "And..." She ducked a rapidly outstretched arm and landed another light blow on Natsuki's backside just as she sank into a vacant chair. "Seven. Hello, Fujino-san."

"Mai-han." Shizuru dipped her head bemusedly. "A pleasure to see you again."

"Likewise." Mai settled her lower arms on the table and made no motion to acknowledge the red-faced, scowling young woman standing next to her. "How have you been?"

"I can't complain," she noted, and took a small sip of her tea to cover the twitch at the corner of her mouth. "I trust the same goes for you?"

"Oh, absolutely." One hand lifted, then dropped once more. "I have no problems that couldn't be fixed by having a social circle made up of reasonable human beings."

"That can be quite troublesome," Shizuru agreed gravely, and watched from out of the corner of her eye as Natsuki crossed her arms with a huff. "Some of my more immediate coworkers seem to have taken on that particular trait, as well."

"Really?" Mai rested her chin in one hand and studied her intently, her head turned in what was presumably an effort to hide the glint in her eyes from the last member of their little group. "Whatever do you do to deal with it?"

"Oh, this and that," she replied with a smirk, then swiftly schooled her face into a bland expression as she turned to regard her now deeply blushing assistant. "Ara, Natsuki, your coffee must be getting warm," she remarked innocently. "Perhaps you'd better drink it."

"Bah." The younger woman flopped into her chair with an annoyed grunt. "You suck," she pronounced. "Both of you."

Mai finally gave up and laughed, and reached one hand out to pat the frowning woman on the shoulder. "Sorry, Natsuki," she chuckled. "You just make it so easy."

"Feh." Natsuki gave them both a dark look over the edge of her glass, then rolled her eyes and went back to the electronics in front of her.

Shizuru held back a giggle and turned her attention to the redhead. "Mai-han." She waited until the violet eyes settled on her. "May I ask if you're still in school as well?"

"Oh, no." Mai waved one hand dismissively. "I finished a while back and didn't see a need to go any further than an undergraduate degree," she explained. "So my hobby of part time jobs is officially over – I work full-time now." A pause. "I was actually on my way to work when I spotted the two of you."

"Really?" The executive settled her cup on the table and regarded the younger woman. "I do hope we're not making you late."

The redhead chuckled. "Not at all," she assured her with a slight grin. "It's very close by."

"Don't you start talking in layers, too," Natsuki interjected without looking up from the device in her hand. "Shizuru's bad enough," she added, and quickly ducked another swing of the magazine.

Shizuru watched the two of them continue to horse around in that manner for a while, then cleared her throat politely.

"Would one of you care to explain exactly what it is that I seem to be missing out on?" she wondered.

"Ah... ow!" Natsuki had paused at the question, and thus ended up _not_ dodging a whap. "Quit it!" She yanked the magazine out of Mai's hand and tossed it onto the table with a growl. "Or I'm telling Mikoto where you keep your eggs."

"Now, there's no need to make threats," Mai protested.

Natsuki stuck her tongue out, then turned back to the executive. "Long story short, Mai works here." She tapped the tabletop with one finger. "Or, more specifically; she owns the place."

"Half of it, anyway," the redhead explained. "I still have a bit to go in paying off the loan, so technically, the bank owns the rest."

"Is that so?" Shizuru looked around, and watched how the available tables were quickly being claimed by hungry patrons. "From what I can see, you shouldn't have that problem for much longer."

"Here's to hoping," Mai replied wryly.

"Oi, Kuga!"

The call made all three of them look up, and it didn't take long for any of them to spot yet another familiar redhead across the street. Natsuki half-turned in her seat and raised her hands in the universal gesture for 'what the hell do you want?', then rolled her eyes as she was waved over.

"Be right back," she muttered, and made her way between the tables.

Shizuru settled her gaze on Nao, who was leaning against a fence in a typically arrogant pose while she waited for Natsuki to reach her.

"So they _are_ friends now," the executive mused. "How peculiar."

"Ah, I wouldn't go so far as to call them friends," Mai noted from beside her as she too watched the proceedings. "They're too similar to really stay enemies they way they were back in school, but still too competitive for that kind of closeness." A pause. "Watch."

"Hm?" Shizuru gave the redhead a glance, then did as she was asked; blinking as she watched Nao and Natsuki greet each other by clasping forearms.

"A compromise," Mai remarked with a small touch of amusement in her voice. "Bowing made it too easy for them to 'accidentally' headbutt each other, and clasping hands?" She shook her head. "Forget it. That just leads to gripping and eventual fighting. Not a pretty sight."

"I see." She folded her hands over her raised knee and studied the young woman next to her. "What would you call them, then – if not friends or enemies?"

"Troublemakers."

Shizuru chuckled at the deadpan reply. "Well, that was always the case, wasn't it?"

"It's extremely rude to talk about people behind their backs," Natsuki commented as she returned to the table, Nao trailing a little ways behind her. "Especially when they're actually in earshot."

"We didn't know that you _were_ in earshot, though," Mai pointed out. "Hi, Nao-chan."

"Tokiha." Nao raised a hand and let it drop. "Fujino."

The executive watched the lime-green eyes grow shuttered when they settled on her, and sighed inwardly. Apparently she still had some reparations to make in that area.

"Yuuki-han," she greeted politely. "I trust that your mother is well?"

Nao's eyes narrowed so slightly that it was almost impossible to see. "She's fine," she replied shortly. "Almost done with rehabilitation."

"I'm pleased to hear that."

"I bet."

"Shizuru." Natsuki leaned against the back of an empty chair. "Can I borrow your car keys for a minute? I left my cell phone in my jacket."

"I thought you said you wanted to hit the game store?" Nao commented.

"I did." Natsuki shoved a hand in her pocket. "But I need to call Akiko and make sure she can have Junior out of the way when the delivery guy shows up."

The executive fished the keys out of her purse and held them out. "Changed your mind?" she wondered as Natsuki claimed the jingling items.

"Sort of." A half-grin. "They've got more hiding spots at their house than I do in my apartment."

"You're so wrapped up in that kid it's pathetic."

"Go suck on a muffler, Yuuki."

"Oo, kinky." Nao smirked. "Didn't know you had it in ya, Kuga."

"Whatever." Natsuki turned on her heel and grabbed the redhead by the elbow. "C'mon."

"Jeez, chill." Nao reclaimed her arm with a jerk. "I don't need your ass guiding me around."

"Screw you."

"Bite me."

"You wish."

"Dream on."

"They have an interesting relationship, don't they?" Mai spoke up after the bickering duo had vanished in the crowd.

"That's one way of putting it," Shizuru agreed. "Birds of a feather flock together."

"And bristle and caw at each other over territory." The redhead glanced down as a short series of beeps issued from her pocket, then got to her feet. "Please excuse me for a moment, Fujino-san. I really should head inside and at least check on everything."

"Of course, Mai-han. Take your time."

The executive waited until the other woman had entered the small café before she tugged the laptop over and – as an afterthought – slipped Natsuki's PDA back into her purse for safekeeping. A few clicks and a clatter of keystrokes was all it took for her to log out of her assistant's desktop and into her own, and she opened her e-mail program to compose a quick message to Nitora Miki.

The chatter of the lunchtime crowd flowed over her head, and she reread what she had typed out as she lifted the cup to her lips once more.

"Ah." Another few lines made it clear that if the pocket knives would indeed make suitable presents, then the manager should be sure to acquire a few extra dozen of them to account for any additional hires over the next six months, and Shizuru nodded her head in satisfaction as she BCC'ed her direct supervisor; then sent the missive off with swift key combination.

The computer dinged at her after less than a minute, and she smiled as she opened the reply from her father.

_Excellent idea, Shi-chin. Now stop working – it's Sunday._

Short, but sweet, she considered as she studied the message. But... Shizuru drummed her fingers against the table top. Two could play at that game.

_I suppose that the apple doesn't fall very far from the proverbial tree in my case_, she sent back – only after having emphasized her father's work address and the date and time of his reply in boldface.

"You work too hard."

She almost jumped at the familiar voice, but managed to merely raise an eyebrow as she looked up to meet Natsuki's even gaze across the table. "And you are channeling my father," she noted, and smiled at the baffled expression she got in reply. "Did you get everything taken care of?"

"Yup." Natsuki leaned back and patted the cell phone she now had clipped to her belt. "All systems go – along with Nao, by the way. I think she had to meet her mother somewhere." A pause. "Where'd Mai run off to?"

"I believe that Mai-han had some managerial duties to attend to," the executive commented, and shot a glance at the door to the café from over her shoulder. "But she did infer that she would be back later."

"Ah." The younger woman crossed her arms and nodded; her eyes surveying their immediate surroundings with idle curiosity. "Well, it is just about lunch time, so I guess they'd need her now," she remarked. "Speaking of which... you hungry yet?"

"I'm sure I will be by the time the food actually gets to us," Shizuru replied, and flagged down a passing waiter to secure a set of menus. "And if what I remember about Mai-han's cooking is correct..." She held one menu out to her assistant, and trailed off.

"... then the food is pretty much guaranteed to be good," Natsuki finished dryly as she studied the available selection. "Yeah, it usually is. Mai doesn't do all the cooking herself, but as far as I know, most of the recipes are hers."

They each settled on a dish in quick succession, and it wasn't long before a polite server had walked off with the order.

"They're running a hell of a brisk business here," Natsuki muttered, and flicked her hair over her shoulder before giving the table a searching look. "Did you grab the PDA?"

"Yes." Shizuru lifted her purse onto the lacquered wood and pushed it over with one hand, while her other hand tapped a few more keys on the laptop. "Could you put the car keys back in there, please?"

"Oh, shoot." Natsuki shifted as she dug the items in question out of her pocket. "Almost forgot about those. Sure."

"Hm." The executive gave her a look over the edge of the monitor. "And here I thought that perhaps Natsuki simply wanted to drive us back later."

"Well..."

Shizuru chuckled. "I suppose you might as well hold on to the keys, in that case."

She got a broad grin in response. "You got it, boss."

The fair head shook as Shizuru watched her assistant attack her new gadget with renewed enthusiasm, and she gave in to the tugging at the corner of her mouth as she heard a low fanfare issue from the device.

"Some things never change," she mused out loud.

Natsuki glanced up. "You're one to talk, Tea Woman."

"I believe I liked 'Captain' better."

The younger woman snorted and shook her head, and they shared a smile before immersing themselves in their respective electronics.

Games with a touchscreen was an adjustment, Natsuki thought to herself as she tapped the stylus against an enemy and watched the muzzle at the bottom of the display spew bullets at him. When she used a console or her computer, she generally didn't have to worry all that much about pressing too hard, while doing such a thing here might actually break the screen itself.

So she settled on getting the excess energy out of her system by jiggling her leg instead.

A soft humming mingled with the chatter from the surrounding tables and caught her attention, and she glanced at her boss. Shizuru seemed completely unaware that she was even making the noise to begin with – focused as she obviously was on whatever was displayed on her own screen. There was the faintest of furrows in the older woman's brow as her eyes flicked from side to side, and Natsuki got the sudden urge to smooth it out with her finger.

She frowned and settled her gaze back on the small display; taking out a few more heavily armed soldiers as she puzzled over the notion.

"Order up?"

"Hn?" Natsuki raised her head and caught the motion of Shizuru doing likewise, and smirked. "Since when does the owner serve the customers?"

"Since the customers happen to be friends of said owner." Mai waited for the executive to close the laptop and move it aside before setting one of the plates she was carrying down in front of her. "And since I thought that I might join the two of you for lunch, if you don't mind?"

"Not at all," was Shizuru's reply. "Natsuki?"

"Fine by me." She saved her game and set the PDA down. "Just give me my food." She got a look instead of a meal, and sighed. "Please."

"Good girl." The redhead set another plate down before patting her on the head, and she batted the hand away with a growl.

"Don't you start again," she warned, and flicked her gaze to the side when she heard a chuckle. "That goes for you too."

"Of course." Shizuru smiled agreeably while Mai settled herself. "I wouldn't dream of teasing Natsuki."

Natsuki almost choked on the sip of coffee she'd been taking, and coughed. "Bwuh." She wiped her lips with a napkin and stared incredulously at her boss. "I can't believe you actually managed to say that with a straight face."

"I can't either," Mai interjected with a laugh. "No offense, Fujino-san, but that has to have been the biggest lie I've heard all year."

"Ara, we are barely in June yet, Mai-han. I'm sure you'll hear far better than that before the year is out," the executive demurred. "And please, Shizuru is perfectly fine."

The redhead gave her a smile, and the three of them claimed their utensils just as a series of low chimes sounded.

"Oh, dear." Shizuru pulled the phone from her belt and rose. "It seems that today will be one of interruptions," she noted as she peered at the display, then bowed lightly. "Please excuse me for a moment."

_Business or personal?_ Natsuki watched her go, and traced her eyes carefully over the older woman's face as she answered the call. Shizuru was a hard person to read at the best of times, but she had a certain amount of personal insight into the mental machinations of the executive that she liked to believe gave her an advantage over others.

Of course, when the damn woman turned her back she had to go on her body language instead.

A dark eyebrow cocked as she took in the loose set of Shizuru's shoulders, and the lack of tension in her exposed arms. Her boss' jaw was fairly relaxed as well, and from what she could see of her face, the executive appeared to be smiling slightly.

_Personal_, she eventually deduced. _They wouldn't call her about company matters on a Sunday unless something big exploded._

"Does Shizuru-san know?"

"Huh?" She turned back around, and felt her brow furrow in confusion. "Know what?"

Mai said nothing, but did bend her neck to give her a very pointed look.

"Ah." Natsuki was quick to catch on. "No." She shook her head. "No, she doesn't."

"Honestly..." The redhead sighed.

"Oh, give me a break, will you? I haven't even told Akiko." She gave her friend a sour look. "It's not like I can just walk up to either of them and go 'Hey, guess what?'."

"No." Mai rested her chin in one hand and studied her; violet eyes glinting with amusement. "I should hope that by now, even you have more tact than that."

A lightly closed fist thumped against her shoulder in reproach, and she grinned.

"Well, that aside..." The redhead cleared her throat and amiably changed the subject. "How's the new job working out for you?"

"Pretty well, actually." Natsuki stretched her legs out in front of her and crossed her ankles. "I've gotten absolutely no practical experience in actual bioinformatics, but..." She waggled one hand and gave her friend a crooked grin. "I got to visit my sister in the labs downstairs a few times, and given what I've seen of the stuff she has to deal with, well... I think I prefer the 28th floor." A pause. "Fewer headaches, amazing as that sounds."

"My, my..." Mai laughed lightly. "Aiming for a position in management now, are we?" The flame-tinted head shook bemusedly. "I'm having enough trouble picturing you in a powersuit now – let alone for the rest of your life."

"Shut it, Tokiha. I'll have you know that I'm perfectly capable of pulling off that look."

"And donning such a suit during the week makes it all the more enjoyable to dress casually during your time off," came the lightly accented comment from behind them as Shizuru rejoined their little group; the elder of them apparently having overheard the last part of the conversation.

Natsuki quirked an eyebrow at her boss as Shizuru reclaimed her seat, then turned a dry glance to Mai. "This from the woman who works out in honest to God hakama," she remarked.

"Working out is still a form of work," the executive pointed out as they all dug into their individual meals.

"I've yet to see you show up at the office wearing a gi." Natsuki waggled a chopstick at her boss. "Even if the company does allow people to-- Aw, man." She clapped a hand over her eyes as the visuals from earlier now returned with a vengeance, and groaned. "Gah! Bad mental images!" Her free hand batted at the air in front of her face. ""Out, out, out!"

Shizuru chuckled while Mai made a noise of utter confusion.

"Would you like to explain this to Mai-han, Natsuki?" The executive sounded far too amused for her liking. "Or should I?"

Natsuki glared at her boss from between two fingers. "You tell her," she growled. "If you need me, I'll be over here covering my ears and thinking of fluffy things."

And Shizuru proceeded to do just that. Or at least it seemed that way, Natsuki considered, judging by the glint in the crimson eyes and the increasingly slack-jawed look on Mai's face as the executive's lips moved. She rolled her own eyes when they both sent a smirk her way; instinctively knowing that her boss had taken it upon herself to inform the redhead of exactly what it was that had caused her earlier outburst.

Maybe it'd be wise to keep her ears covered for a little while longer.

Then again... Natsuki studied the gently steaming plate in front of her and sighed. Mai had added extra mayo to her karaage, and it did taste a lot better hot than it did cold.

_Damn it_. She gave both of her companions a wary look, and lowered her hands to resume eating.

"... get every kind there is here, too," Mai was saying between bites. "Most are fairly normal, but every once in a while, we get a customer that just raises the bar for odd to a new level." She paused to chew, and glanced upwards in thought for a few seconds. "I think it was... well, a month or two ago, this one man started coming in once a week. He always orders the spiciest thing on the menu and _one_ small glass of milk, and then seems surprised when he has to order more after just a couple of mouthfuls."

"Mm?" Natsuki dipped another piece of chicken into the bowl of mayo. "Every week? Talk about being a creature of habit."

"Or very forgetful," Mai pointed out.

"Or simply one who enjoys testing himself," Shizuru remarked calmly while selecting a piece of meat from her own dish. "It could be that he's merely trying to get to the point where he can make it through the entire meal without needing more than that single glass."

"Maybe," the redhead allowed thoughtfully. "No matter what, he provides some amusement in an otherwise pretty bland day, so..." She shrugged one shoulder. "It's not like we mind him, even if he does flirt with some of the girls."

"Oh, come on, Mai." Natsuki chuckled softly. "From what you tell me, he sure isn't the only one. How many times have you been hit on this week?"

"I've lost count," Mai muttered, much to the amusement of her tablemates.

"Thought so." Natsuki drowned another bit of chicken. "What's the name of your imaginary boyfriend right now, anyway?"

Shizuru quirked an eyebrow at that. "Imaginary boyfriend?"

"Hm." Mai chewed a bit of vegetable reflectively. "Tate and I went our separate ways a while back, but while I'm technically single, I don't really want to go out with someone who hits on me while I'm working."

The executive had her mouth full, and so merely nodded.

"So I talk to my staff about a boyfriend I supposedly have – they're in on it, of course," the redhead went on. "And it helps keep most of the would-be romantics at bay." She kept her smile turned to Shizuru as she reached out a hand to pat their remaining companion on the shoulder. "Natsuki even helps me out by picking me up from work every now and then."

"And you still owe me for the last few times," the woman in question piped up, and gave her friend a light kick under the table. "I wouldn't be just anyone's pretend biker-boy, y'know."

"You wouldn't think so from how good a job you do of it," Mai remarked playfully.

"Bleh." Natsuki made a face and shot a warning glance at her amusedly smirking boss. "I don't see why you don't just go out with Kanzaki already. You know he still likes you, and God knows Mikoto would be over the moon to hear those news."

"This is payback for earlier, isn't it?"

"Bet your ass it is."

"I'll think about it," Mai offered diplomatically, and then swiftly changed the subject. "But for now– Midori-chan mentioned recently that she might be coming to Fuuka some time this summer."

"Sugiura-sensei is?" Shizuru's eyebrows rose slightly. "Ara, those are fairly big news," she noted thoughtfully. "She left before I did."

"Exactly." The redhead nodded. "So we'll need to welcome her back in style."

"Mai?" Natsuki set down her drink and eyed her friend warily. "Don't tell me you wanna throw another--"

"Karaoke party?" The violet eyes twinkled. "Of course I do. We can welcome Shizuru-san back at the same time, and it's practically tradition!"

A loud thud jarred the assembled plates and glasses on the table, and while the executive swiftly hid a smile behind one hand, Mai scoffed.

"Oh, sit up, Natsuki. One more won't kill you."

_-----_

"That ended up being a longer day than expected," came the remark from the driver's seat several hours later.

"Indeed," Shizuru agreed, and watched the yellowish light from the street lamps flicker over the hood of the car. What had initially only been supposed to be a few hours spent in Tsukomori had turned into a full day of it, and while the executive couldn't even remember most of what they'd actually spent the time on, it had been sunset by the time they'd eventually settled themselves inside the Toyota and started the drive back towards Fuuka.

"I do hope that you won't have to stay up too late in order to finish your homework," she then offered somewhat apologetically, and turned her head to study the dimly lit outline of the younger woman.

Natsuki chuckled and flicked the turn signal on. "Nah. Don't worry about it," she appeased calmly and sent her a glance. "I read pretty fast, and like I said, I don't have too much left, anyway."

"Still..."

"Shizuru." The car slowed as it turned down a specific residential street, and while her assistant carefully kept her eyes on the road in front of them, a hand still managed to settle against her arm with pinpoint accuracy. "It's fine; I promise. Okay?"

She nodded and watched the hand return to its place on the steering wheel, then reached out to press a small button. "If you're certain"

"I am." Natsuki deftly guided the car into the now open garage and checked the mirrors before pulling the handbrake and turning off the ignition. The two of them both undid their respective seatbelts, and the executive was about to open her own door when a hand on her shoulder made her pause.

"Ah-ah." Her assistant shook her head decisively. "Stay."

Shizuru gave her an amused look, but agreeably settled back into her seat while Natsuki left her own, and waited for the younger woman to get out, walk around the car and open the door for her.

"Why, thank you, Natsuki." She gracefully got to her feet and chuckled. "How very gallant of you."

"Eh." The younger woman shrugged. "You conned me out of paying for dinner, too. Least I can do is open a door, right?" She quirked an eyebrow and closed the door again, while Shizuru leaned in through the back door and collected the items they'd stashed there previously.

"I suppose so," the executive agreed, shouldering her purse before holding up Natsuki's jacket and helping the younger woman into it. She wasn't sure exactly what made her slip her hands under the soft, dark hair and tug it out from beneath the collar while Natsuki shrugged into the garment, but the blush that greeted her when her assistant turned back around was a more than acceptable reward for her efforts.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

The dark head bent when Natsuki settled a few locks of hair behind her ear, and they spent a few seconds regarding each other under the fluorescent lights while a bird chirped softly somewhere in the distance.

"So... uh." Natsuki turned and crossed over to the Ducati parked a few feet away, deftly righting the bike without raising the kickstand and proceeding to push it outside. "I guess I'd better hit the road."

"Yes." Shizuru paused to flick a couple of switches, and ducked her head in order to clear the door as it began lowering with an electronic hum. "Perhaps you should."

The younger woman grunted in apparent agreement, and the dusk wrapped around them as she let the motorcycle settle back on its kickstand and picked up her helmet. She studied the glossy surface of it for a couple of seconds, then glanced over her shoulder towards the gardens before turning back around.

"The path."

"Hm?" The executive cocked her head curiously.

"It's still not nearly as dark as it should be," Natsuki noted. "Why is that, anyway?"

"Ah." Shizuru folded her hands in front of her and smiled as she recalled the younger woman's earlier curiosity about that subject. "Mirrors."

Natsuki closed one hand around the chin guard of her helmet and rested the other one on her hip. "Mirrors?"

A solemn nod. "Mirrors."

"... right. Mirrors." The younger woman shook her head and gave her a look. "You'll have to explain that further at some point."

"If you wish." Shizuru chuckled as the watched the green eyes roll, then sobered slightly. "Ookini, Natsuki." A questioning look made her clarify. "For your company today. I enjoyed myself very much."

"Ah." Her assistant nodded and leaned lightly against the side of the bike. "Well, you're welcome. I had fun, too. And..." She pulled out the case containing her PDA and waggled it while her lips quirked in a crooked smile. "Thanks again for this."

"Not at all." Shizuru dipped her head briefly and smiled herself. "I trust you'll make good use of it, at any rate."

"I'll try," the younger woman promised wryly. "Oh, and before I forget – here." Natsuki pulled something from the inside pocket of her jacket. "Fair's fair. Catch."

The small box almost managed to thump against her chest before her hands closed around its edges. Shizuru studied the paper the box had been wrapped in, and recognized the logo from the electronics store they'd visited that morning.

"And what could this be?" she wondered aloud, peering at her assistant as Natsuki settled herself on the motorcycle and bumped the kickstand up with her foot.

"Payback," was the smug reply before the younger woman pulled her helmet on and turned the key. "I missed a lot of birthdays, too!" she called over the roar of the engine, and raised one hand to wave. "See you Wednesday!"

The executive felt decidedly bemused as she waved back and watched the red taillight rumble out of her driveway and around the corner, then turned and wandered back towards the front door to her house.

The sound of footsteps reached the wooden porch, and paused under a lamp.

There was a soft ripping of paper, followed by a chuckle.

"Ara." Shizuru shook her head, but didn't try to reign in her smile. "Well... I suppose fair _is_ fair."

-----

**End Notes:**  
Hihi! Quick plea from yours truly:

In planning out the chapters ahead, I'm leaning in several different directions as to whether or not Shizuru and Natsuki have any sexual experience in this universe. Has one of them danced the Horizontal Hula? Have they both? Have neither? What do you think is more likely given the two of them ___as they are here__?_

I can easily write scenes based on all of the above, but I'm not quite sure which one I should go with. For that reason, opinions are appreciated and warmly welcomed, so please select your choice in the poll in my profile if you haven't done so already, and feel free to PM me about the subject if you wish. Thanks in advance. :)


	9. Closer Still

For disclaimers, please see part I.

For Askim.

**Author's Notes:**  
Grawwwwr for writer's block. Bleh. . And I have a few distractions that far outweigh writing, but I've already mentioned that in my profile.

It was pointed out to me earlier that -han and -chin aren't really that outstandingly common in Kyoto-ben, and since I can't remember Shizuru herself using them in the series, she (and her father) will use -san and -chan from now on like everyone else. I'll go over the earlier chapters and make the changes in them when I get the chance.

Thank you for reading.

**A Million Reasons; part IX  
**Closer Still

* * *

_Another Monday, another meeting._ Shizuru rolled the brief sentence around her head as she watched two of the company's higher-ranked Infrastructure managers plead their case in front of a large slideshow at the other end of the room while she did her level-best to keep her focus on them.

Yes, sure enough the technology industry was changing and evolving rapidly, and sure enough, they had to spend a good deal of funds on a regular basis to make sure the equipment they used stayed at a state-of-the-art level.

But really... She swallowed a sigh and spared a thought for her full inbox. Was it necessary to spend two hours or more explaining that to their upper-level management every other week?

_Entirely too much red tape_, she considered and picked up the device Natsuki had given her the day before. A brand new PDA, and the exact same model that she had given to her assistant only hours earlier, only this one had come with a deep, violet cover.

Shizuru tapped her way into the calender, and resolutely set aside the remaining hour of the next three days of the week for "PENDING: Private Telephone Meeting". That done, she switched to the messaging application and sent a quick missive to her father asking for his time during those hours. That red tape would need to be cut.

Then she set the device back down and turned back to the slideshow, and wished they would hurry up so she and the other VPs could approve the budget and go back to actually working.

The PDA resting on the table in front of her flashed dimly, and she kept half an ear on the presentation as she claimed the device with one hand and shifted it into her lap, just out of view of the rest of the rooms' occupants. An animated envelope was opening and closing on the small display, and she glanced up briefly before removing the stylus and giving the icon a tap.

She made a note of the sender, and smothered a smile as she watched a beautifully drawn black wolf pad into view and sit neatly in the center of the screen. Its furry head cocked at her, and she watched the remarkably clear, blue eyes blink once before the animal lay down and put both of its front paws over its muzzle with a decidedly surly air.

Then she had to quickly turn a chuckle into a soft cough as the wolf's tongue lolled out at the exact same moment that its tail held up a sign with the kanji for 'lectures' written on it - partially covered by a large, red X.

_Honestly..._ Shizuru's lips twitched as she tapped the "Reply" button.

_"I see that you've figured out how to make use of the messaging system,"_ she quietly scribbled, and sent the missive on its way.

The answer wasn't long in coming.

_"Yup. Much more fun to play around with this thing. How do you like Kuro?"_

Since the name was also a Japanese word for 'black', it wasn't hard for the executive to figure out whom – or rather what – her assistant was referring to.

_"A very well done piece of animation,"_ she replied. _"Where did you find him?"_

This time, it took a few moments before the screen flashed again.

_"Classmate of mine. He's good at that sort of thing – makes some extra money with it. He has his laptop with him and saw me fiddling with my own gadget. Asked me to test that file out, and I figured you could probably use some amusement during the meeting."_

An elegant eyebrow quirked._ "And how did you know that I was in a meeting?"_

_"You're **always** in a meeting on Monday morning. And usually way more bored than we are here."_

She could almost see the droll look that was sure to have accompanied the words, and was glad that the remaining occupants of the conference room were too occupied with other things to notice her silent bemusement.

_"Are any of you actually paying attention to the lecture?"_

_"Are you kidding? Oohashi-sensei'll keep regurgitating info about the stuff we read for another 20 minutes or so, and then switch to blowing smoke about the end of term exams."_

There was a brief pause before the envelope appeared again.

_"Don't get me wrong, he knows his stuff. He just follows a very specific pattern, and apparently nobody's bothered to point that fact out to him. Pop-quizzes are every 7th class – one added in February on a leap year. First half of every term, he spends the last half of class time debating, the quarter-term after that on drilling us with questions and then the final quarter on exam prep."_

Shizuru resisted the impulse to shake her head. _"Then shouldn't you perhaps be listening to what your sensei is currently saying?"_

Now the black wolf appeared again, only this time it gave her a gravely offended look before walking off with it's snout in the air.

_"I **am** capable of doing more than one thing at a time,"_ came the pointed words after the small animation. "Don't tell me you're tuning out the meeting?"

She swallowed a chuckle and mentally conceded the point. _"True", _she sent back. _"But I am not getting graded on my attentiveness."_

_"Like hell you aren't. What do you think end-of-quarter bonuses are?"_

"Fujino-sama?"

Shizuru raised her head, and quickly realized that the entire room was watching her curiously. Apparently that hadn't been the first time someone had attempted to get her attention.

_Oh, dear._

"Forgive me." She smiled serenely and let the PDA fall into her lap before folding her hands on the table. "I was making some calculations. Would you repeat the question?"

"Of course, Fujino-sama." One of the young managers bowed. "We were simply asking if we could expect to receive the budget for the updates we mentioned."

"I don't see why not," Shizuru replied, and settled her gaze on the Finance VP. The two of them were the only ones who really had the power to veto anything in this regard, which made it all the more pointless to call a meeting for every single VP in the building. "Kanzo-san? Any objections?"

"Not that I can come up with right now," the thin man with the faint graying at his temples replied with an easy smile. "The cost isn't that high given the fact that we can get most of this stuff from vendors we already have contracts with."

"The joy of bulk orders and discounts," Shizuru agreed with a smile of her own. "Very well, then please make the necessary calls, Kanzo-san." She claimed her PDA and settled it in the pocket of her open blazer, then rose. "Ookini for your time, gentlemen. Enjoy the rest of your day."

A low chorus of farewells followed her out of the door, and she headed down the hall in relative peace. Once in an elevator heading for her own floor, she pulled the PDA back out and sent a quick, teasingly scolding message to her assistant.

She had only barely made it back out of the lift before the reply came back.

_"Excuse me? How is it my fault that you have such a male brain?"_

That made her quirk an eyebrow, and she stopped next to a wall and she asked exactly what that was supposed to mean.

_"Simple,"_ was the quick reply._ "The old joke claims that men can only focus on one thing at a time – that's why cars only have one steering wheel. Women, meanwhile, can focus on four, and that's why a stove has four hot-plates."_

Shizuru rolled her eyes. "How do you explain male driving instructors, then? Do those cars not have two steering wheels?"

There was a brief pause before the screen flashed again. _"True. Gay?"_

She swallowed a snort of amusement and shook her head. _"Goofy."_

_"No, I'm pretty sure he's straight. Though you never know with those Disney characters..."_

Shizuru chuckled and pocketed the device as she started back down the hall to her own office. Kina was on the phone when she slipped through the electronic door, and she returned the secretary's friendly wave of greeting as she passed by and entered her own dominion.

She had only just seated herself at her desk when the PDA buzzed in her pocket once again.

_"Much as I'm enjoying the banter, talk-time is almost here and I gotta run. Wanna hang out with me and the brat later?"_

"_Certainly,"_ she sent back with a smile. _"I should be leaving at four. What time would you prefer to meet?"_

_"Ah, the elders are on a date tonight, so I'm grabbing Nee-chan's car around 2 to pick Kaguya up. I have her until ten or so, so just come over when you can. I'll leave the door unlocked."_

Shizuru sent back a quick confirmation, and then turned her attention to clearing out her overflowing inbox.

-----

At exactly 2:07 PM that same day, Natsuki pulled into the company parking lot and stored her motorcycle in the shed. In her hand was a small, lime-green bag, which she slipped into a small pocket on the side of her riding suit before holding her card up to the reader, entering the main door and waving to a guard she recognized.

Early afternoon traffic meant that she was a little behind schedule, and as such had to hurry to Akiko's office before the older woman started a meeting at 2:15. It was just barely 2:12 by the time she found her way to her sister's department, and their meeting consisted of Natsuki skidding to a halt in the hall and the two of them giving each other a quick hug, followed by a rapid exchange of car keys before Akiko shooed her away and hurried to her meeting.

_Bah._ She ran a hand through her hair and shook her head as she waited for her heart rate to change from _OMGhurry_ to _Okay, plenty of time_, and did her best to ignore the appreciative glances that her riding suit earned her from some of the other employees as she retraced her steps down the hall to the elevator bays.

Once she was in and had pressed the button for the floor she worked on, she settled herself against the cart's back wall, where no one could really give her the once-over without her noticing.

A quick glance at the digital clock below the floor indicator told her that Akiko would have just started her meeting while Shizuru would be in one of her own for another fifteen minutes, provided it didn't run late as so many of them tended to do.

She prevented the electronic door from removing her backside once again, and raised a hand in greeting to Kina.

"Good afternoon, Kuga-san," the secretary told her, her eyes flicking from the visitor to the stack of papers on her desk as she sorted through them. "I wasn't expecting to see you today."

"I wasn't expecting to be here," she replied wryly. "Buried in paperwork yet?"

"Ah, not quite yet," came the answer. "But I'm certain I will be soon enough if I put my mind to it."

Natsuki chuckled. "That's the spirit," she told the older woman as she crossed the floor and touched one of the doorhandles. "She isn't in, is she?"

"No." Kina sent the now blinking telephone a glance. "But she should be back shortly if you wish to wait."

"Oh no." Natsuki shook her head. "No time. I'm just gonna sneak in for a few."

"By all means." The secretary lifted the phone's receiver and kept the Mute button pressed down. "Just don't break anything."

"Like I would," she muttered and glared mildly at the blonde, wasted though it was as Kina was already busy talking on the phone. "Crazy woman."

She quietly closed the heavy door behind her and looked around, noting the tidiness of the large room that was so characteristic of her older friend. The only thing even mildly out of place was a small stack of papers resting on the table by the couches, along with a pot of what was now probably cold tea and an almost empty cup.

Even that slight mess made her raise an eyebrow, and purely on instinct, she ambled over to the table and picked up the cup and the pot. Who was Shizuru in a meeting with, again?

She scanned the header on the first page of papers, and then gave a little grunt before turning and plodding over to the counter on the other side of the room. Of course – the new client whose representatives had exasperated their way up the chain of command, and had already twice come close to making the usually unflappable CEO pull at her hair.

That explained the sudden sloppiness, she decided as she rinsed the china out and set about washing them. Shizuru had to be pretty damn flustered to leave even a hair out of place on her own head, let alone leave dishes out in her office for more than half an hour.

_She's gonna be in a hell of a mood once she gets back_, she decided. After a moment's thought, she opened one of the low cabinets and removed the small bottle of over-the-counter painkillers the executive tended to keep around. _She's probably gonna go here before sitting down so..._

A quick pass by her friend's desk left her with a small stack of yellow sticky-notes and a pen, and she laid three of them out on the counter.

_Take these first_, she wrote on the first note, and placed two of the small pills below her own writing. _Then try this_. The bag she'd brought with her was placed over the second note. _If all else fails_, she penned on the last one with a small smirk, _tell the building to kiss your ass right now and come bum around with us. See you later_.

She made her way back outside with another wave to Kina, and even on the short trek from the main doors to the silver sedan her sister drove, she felt her forehead bead with sweat in the early afternoon heat.

It was with a sigh of relief that she started the engine and the air-condition, pulled out of the parking lot, and turned her mind towards finding her niece in a crowd of equally rambunctious grade-schoolers.

-----

_I am going to get her for that_, Shizuru silently promised herself, though she was smiling as she sipped a cup of the tea she'd found sitting in her office when she returned from an incredibly aggravating meeting with a group of people who apparently couldn't find their own rear-ends with two hands and a flashlight. _I am absolutely going to get her for that_.

It wasn't that she minded the fact that Natsuki had been in her office without her knowing – not at all. In fact, she had found it very touching that the young woman had taken the time to set up her own miniature pharmacy in preparation for the mood she'd been in when she returned. Coupled with the pounding stress-headache that was now thankfully receding, that tiny, but so utterly characteristic display of affection had hit her out of the blue and made her have to blink back tears.

So she would have to find some appropriately devious way of returning the favor, she decided as the combined flavor of apples, cinnamon and vanilla stung her tongue pleasantly. It just wouldn't be sporting not to.

A soft note rang from her computer and made her look up, and she carefully cradled the cup in her hands as she crossed over to the desk and gave her mouse a wiggle. Sure enough, there was an e-mail waiting for her from her father, and she settled herself in her chair as she read through the brief message.

_I'm afraid I can't take part in a telephone meeting today, Shi-chan, as I've already agreed to another meeting during that hour. I do have the time tomorrow and Wednesday, so hopefully we should be able to get the ball rolling then._

_As for now, I suggest you take the hour off. You work too hard._

Why, she wondered, was everyone encouraging her to slack off all of a sudden? Shizuru took another sip of tea as she considered the idea of leaving early. She frowned thoughtfully and clicked into her calendar, giving the next day a quick overview.

Only one meeting, and that was from 10:30 to lunch. Shizuru chewed her lower lip as she considered. That should give her plenty of time to catch up on anything she didn't do today, shouldn't it?

It should, she decided and started shutting down the individual programs. With any luck, Natsuki wouldn't expect her to show up early after all, and she could catch the young woman doing something embarrassing.

Kina had left her desk, and the outer office was blessedly empty when she poked her head outside. Still, she left a note on the secretary's desk saying that she was out of the office for a meeting, and that any calls should only be in emergencies.

Whoever wasn't happy with her leaving, she decided as she elevator descended, could take it up with her tomorrow.

Much as she wanted to head directly over to Natsuki's apartment, the heat of the sun was quick to inform her that a wool suit wasn't the most comfortable garment to wear when she didn't have to. So instead, she took the slight detour past her own house, and spent a few minutes changing into a pair of light slacks and a pale blouse before returning to her car.

Traffic was thankfully fairly light still, and she managed to make it to the building her assistant lived in a good deal earlier than the young woman was expecting her. The humid heat that remained even after she entered the main doors didn't escape her, and a cursory glance at the notice board inside told her that the air-conditioning was out of order, but being worked on.

_Lucky for Natsuki that she doesn't live directly below the roof_, Shizuru considered as she made the brief trek up the stairs to the second floor. _She dislikes heat enough as it is_.

Sure enough, Natsuki's front door was unlocked as promised, and it didn't take long for her to pick up on the music coming from the living room. She stayed as quiet as possible as she slipped out of her shoes, then snuck over to the doorway and poked her head around the corner.

And swallowed a chuckle.

Apparantly both Natsuki and Kaguya were feeling the heat and had dressed accordingly. Kaguya in a skirt and sleeveless, white top, and Natsuki in a pair of mid-thigh shorts and a simple bra. Both had their hair tied up, and while the little girl was hopping along with the music, Natsuki was sitting cross-legged on the floor and watching her niece indulgently as she played along with the game on her own guitar.

Soon enough the song ended, and Natsuki high-fived the excited child with a grin. "Nice job, brat. One more?"

Shizuru decided that now would probably be an opportune time to announce herself.

"Encore!" She called, grinning broadly at the two of them.

"Shizu... ru?" Natsuki jerked and stared at her, then glanced down at her own half-clad form. "Uh..."

"Ara... Natsuki should have told me she'd be dressed like this. I would've brought my camera if I had known."

"Oh..."

Shizuru chuckled as she mentally filled in the missing expletive, then turned her attention from one set of dumbly blinking emerald eyes to another, far more aware one. "Hello, Kaguya-chan."

"Hi, Fujino-san!" The girl set her controller down and bounded over to the brunette, where she loosely grabbed hold of the executive's arm. "You wanna play with me and Natsuki-obasan?"

She cast a glance at the aunt in question - who was still bright red all the way down to her waist - and bit back a smile. "I'm afraid I'm nowhere near as good at that game as Kaguya-chan," she explained. "Nor can I match Natsuki on the guitar."

"That's okay," the girl cheerfully persisted. "We'll teach you!" She glanced over her shoulder, "Right, Obachan?"

"Ah..." Natsuki seemed to shake herself awake and managed to get to her feet without looking too awkward. "Kaguya, maybe Fujino-san isn't all that interested in being inside a hot house all day," she explained as she lifted the guitar strap free of her neck and turned off the amplifier. "How about we all go out for ice cream instead?"

-----

They ended up below a parasol outside a nearby ice cream parlor, though they had to wait until Natsuki had changed into some longer shorts and a white polo before they could leave. She refused to leave the house as she was, no matter how much both Kaguya and Shizuru tried to convince her.

"Can we go to the park later?" Kaguya piped up after a mouthful of vanilla-caramel, and gave her aunt an expectant look.

Natsuki spooned some mint-chocolate into her own mouth, and swallowed. "Well, maybe." She quirked an eyebrow at Shizuru in question, and got a nod in reply. "But we need to find some lotion to put on you first. Your Mama's gonna have my hide if you're crab-red tonight."

The girl frowned. "What's that mean?"

Shizuru chuckled. "It means that if you get a sunburn, your Natsuki-obasan is going to get a spanking."

"And right now you need a bath." Natsuki used her bottle of water to wet a napkin, and set about removing the sticky mess that had attached itself to her niece's lips and chin. "You're a slob, kiddo."

Kaguya blushed.

Shizuru watched the two of them bemusedly as she finished her own treat, then pushed the small cup into the center of the table. "Well, if we need children's lotion, I believe there should be a pharmacy just down the road," she commented. "We should be able to find some there."

"Okay." Natsuki gave the little face in front of her a critical look. "But we'll need to find an ATM somewhere first. I don't think I have enough cash on me, and I didn't bring my credit card."

"I have plenty on me." Shizuru slipped her own water bottle into her shoulder-bag, and held a hand out for Natsuki's. "And before you ask, it's no trouble."

Kaguya was making short work of shoveling down her remaining ice cream, and Natsuki held her bottle out to the older woman with a questioning look. "You're sure?" she asked, and kept a grip on the bottle when Shizuru tried to grab it.

"Quite." The executive gave the bottle a yank, and stuck the tip of her tongue out when she secured it.

Natsuki pulled a face at her, then got to her feet and tugged lightly on Kaguya's hair. "You about ready, brat?"

"Yup!" Kaguya hopped down from her chair and stretched her arms up expectantly. "Piggyback-ride?"

"Oh so you wanna be carried, do you?" Natsuki set her hands on her hips and cocked her head. "And why should I lug you around?"

"'Cause Obachan loves me," was the blithe reply.

"So I do." She hoisted the girl onto the seat of one of the wooden chairs, then turned around and bent her knees slightly. "Alright, grab on."

"You do spoil her," Shizuru noted, and smiled as she watched the little girl push her aunt's high ponytail out of her way and peek curiously over her shoulder.

"I told you, it's my job." Natsuki smirked and hoisted her cargo up a little higher on her back as they started down the street along with the rest of the crowd. "Besides, it's an excellent workout."

The older woman had no trouble believing that, and so just chuckled in reply.

"Wait!"

"Grkth!" Natsuki bent a little to keep the girl where she was, then used one hand to loosen the tight hold Kaguya had gotten on her throat. "Careful, kiddo. Tap my shoulder next time, okay?"

"Sorry, Obachan."

"S'alright." The dark head turned, and the little girl obligingly kissed the available cheek. "Now why did you want to stop?"

"I believe _that_ is why." Shizuru nodded towards the storefront next to them, with the blue and yellow Blockbuster logo proudly displayed right above their heads.

"Ah." Natsuki glanced up, then looked at her niece out of the corner of her eye. "Well, it's one or the other, junior. Movies or the park?"

"Movies!"

"Okay." She guided the child safely onto the ground. "But you have to ask Fujino-san if it's okay with her, since she's the only one who has money with her right now."

"Can we rent a movie, Fujino-san?" Kaguya jumped in front of the executive and folded her hands below her chin as she stared beseechingly up at her. "Pretty please?"

Shizuru smiled. "How can I refuse when Kaguya-chan asks me so nicely?"

-----

A hearty meal and one screening of Mulan later, Natsuki went through the motions of coaxing her tired and thus pouty niece through her usual bedtime rituals, after having told her guest to make herself at home on the couch in the meantime.

"I dun wannf bruf!" Kaguya whined through a mouthful of toothpaste. "M tiref!"

"That's exactly _why_ you need to brush, kiddo. You have to do that before you can go to sleep." Natsuki scratched the little girl's back gently. "You're almost done, Kaguya-chan. Just 15 seconds more, okay?"

The child glowered darkly at her. "Yu promfsh to shingsh?"

"I promise to sing to you. But only if you brush for another 15 seconds."

"Okapf."

"Good girl." She ran a hand through the azure locks and kept an eye on the clock as Kaguya went back to work. Having the girl brush for two and a half minutes non-stop morning and evening was a rule set in place by Akiko and Morio, and while Natsuki loved being the 'fun aunt', she wasn't about to get the title at the cost of her niece's stability. So rules were rules.

Once the girl finished her chore and spat the foam into the sink, Natsuki placed a kiss on top of her head and handed her a glass of water. "Rinse time, junior."

"Obachan, I know that." Kaguya gave her a look. "I'm not four."

"Right." Natsuki chuckled softly and leaned against the counter on one hip while her niece finished. "Ready for bed now?"

"Yup." Kaguya nodded sleepily.

"Did you say good night to Fujino-san?"

Another nod, and Kaguya grabbed her hand and determinedly pulled her out of the bathroom and down the hall.

Once they entered the bedroom, Natsuki deftly lifted the girl onto her own bed, where she'd be sleeping until her parents came to pick her up later in the evening.

"Alright, squiggler." She knelt by the side of the bed and helped her niece make her way under the covers, then placed Blackbeard - a stuffed panda with a completely black chin – in the crook of the little girl's arm. "Squiggle on under those covers and you'll get a song, okay?"

"'Kay." Kaguya curled up on her side and hugged the stuffed toy, closing her eyes with a yawn as Natsuki began to sing softly.

_It's only a night  
only a night  
Where only the stars and the moon are in sight  
Take all your cares  
lock them away  
Leave them to rest for another new day_

_All the world's worries are left up to chance_  
_now is when dreams and fantasies dance_  
_Tell all the goblins and beasts in your head_  
_to leave you alone, think of good things instead_

Natsuki let her voice trail off, and waited a few seconds while she watched her niece breathe slowly. She then ducked her head to place a light kiss on the girl's forehead, silently got to her feet and tip-toed out of the room. The door was left open by just a crack, and she peeked in to make sure Kaguya was still sleeping.

"Somehow, that's not the singing voice I remember you having a few years ago."

The soft comment made her jump a little, and she turned her head to see Shizuru leaning against the wall a few feet away.

"Ah." Natsuki grinned a touch sheepishly and trotted quietly down the hall. "Well, how many karaoke parties do you think I'd have been able to argue my way out of if Mai knew?"

"Good point." The executive fell into step beside her and chuckled softly. "But now I know Natsuki's secret."

"Mmhmm." The dark head nodded once. "And you're not telling anyone."

"Really?" Shizuru turned her head and raised an eyebrow.

Natsuki stopped, and met the inquiring look with a stern one of her own. "Really."

"You think so?" The corners of Shizuru's mouth quirked, and then gave the top of Natsuki's chest a light push with a single finger.

_Oh, so we're playing now, are we?_ Natsuki smirked and caught the older woman's wrist in her hand. "I do."

"Oho?"

"Aha."

"I seem to remember Natsuki being frightfully ticklish," Shizuru commented almost offhandedly as she freed her wrist from the younger woman's grip. "I wonder if that's still the case."

A pause while Natsuki considered that.

"You wouldn't dare."

"I wouldn't?"

"Grrk!" Natsuki jerked as two sets of fingers abruptly found their way to her sides, and she danced a few steps back. "Hey!"

"Is for horses, I believe." Shizuru was calmly advancing, and swiftly reached out to give the same spot another tweak.

"Gah!" Natsuki jerked again and deftly maneuvered her way behind the low table in the living room, and the two of them circled it in silence for a few moments, carefully watching the other's every move.

Then Natsuki went on the attack, and the two of them wrestled for control while snickering as silently as they could, even when someone slipped and they ended up fighting for dominance on the floor.

Natsuki ended up on the bottom somehow, and fended off her friend's hands as best she possible could while her body shook with soundless laughter and Shizuru grinned down at her.

But although she was having a ball even with the effort it took to not laugh aloud, her brain was pushing one little factoid closer and closer to the front of her brain. And that was the fact that the tussle – otherwise known as having Shizuru's body pressed closely against her own – was making her libido wake up.

And it was cheering loudly.

_Shit!_ Natsuki struggled to keep the sudden panic from showing on her face, and kept the tussle going while her mind raced frantically. She had to get out of this position, but without making Shizuru suspicious.

_"Hey, I know it's been years and all, but my body suddenly seems to want you."_ Oh, that would go over like a lead balloon.

An idea fluttered across her mind and she went with it, purposely tossing her head a little too much before cringing and grabbing onto the side of her neck with a grunt.

"Natsuki?" Shizuru immediately stopped moving. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah... yeah, I'm alright." She rubbed at her neck and grimaced slightly, waiting for the older woman to move away before gingerly sitting up herself. "Think I just pulled something I wasn't supposed to."

She glanced up, and felt her heart sink when she met the guilt-ridden red eyes._ Oh, for heaven's sake Kuga... how low can you go?_

"Hey..." She reached a hand out and placed it on Shizuru's knee. "Don't gimme that look. This isn't your fault, alright?" _It's mine_. "You didn't do this. It's entirely my own fault for getting a little too crazy." _Not like you can help the fact that my hormones suddenly decided to start doing the mambo._

Shizuru nodded, but the look in her eyes was still doubtful. "If Natsuki says so."

"I do." She carefully got to her feet, then held out the arm on her 'good' side to help the older woman up. "We had fun and got carried away. It happens."

"Right." Shizuru was still eying her dubiously.

_Damn that perceptiveness_. Natsuki slowly craned her neck to one side, then the other to keep up her act, then gave her boss a light push towards the couch. "I'll go get us something to rehydrate with. Channel surf all you want."

She resisted the urge to run out of the room, and instead walked calmly into the kitchen, opened the freezer door and decisively stuck her entire head inside it.

_Oh... my... god_. Natsuki stared blankly at the mist rising from a box of ice cream bars while her libido squawked indignantly. _What the **hell** just happened?_! One second it had been all fun and games wrestling around with a good friend and them – WHAM! Insta-rousal. To make matters worse, she couldn't remember a single instance where her body had responded like that, let alone so suddenly.

_Rats_. She reached a hand out blindly and turned the faucet on, just so her guest wouldn't wonder too much. _Rats, rats, rats and fruitbats_.

_Alright, pull yourself together_. Natsuki straightened and grabbed a tray of ice cubes before closing the freezer, then yanked the fridge door open.

"Oi, Shizuru?" She was surprised at how even her voice was. "Do you want soda or tea? Water?"

"Soda is fine."

She collected two cans of the requested beverage from the fridge before closing it again, then set the cans down and splashed a handful of water on her face before turning off the faucet.

Right now, she really needed to just act normal. This was something she desperately wanted to think over in private before she mentioned it to anyone, and for that very reason, she just had to push it out of her head until the apartment was down to one occupant again.

But damn, that was hard, she considered as she fished out some glasses. Especially since up until now, she had been convinced that she was largely asexual. Not once had she felt anything aside from the faintest of interest, so to suddenly have her entire body come alive was one hell of a shock to the system.

And the chief question running laps around her mind was whether or not she had reacted to the contact itself, or the person she'd been in contact with. And had it been Shizuru she'd reacted to, how in the world was she going to bring up

_Should _she even bring it up?

_I'm screwed_. Natsuki regarded the two glasses of soda despondently. _I am absolutely, royally screwed six ways 'til Sunday. Fuck_.

-----

The remainder of their time alone together could best be described as horribly stilted, and Natsuki sighed as she closed the door behind her sister, husband and niece several hours later. Much as she'd tried to hide it, Shizuru had clearly known that something was up, and had ended up excusing herself just short of an hour after the whole mess started.

She'd given the older woman a particularly tight hug goodbye in an effort to reassure her, but wasn't sure how much it had helped. And although she had thought and thought and _thought _until her head had ached after Shizuru left, she still had no idea what to do.

_Goddammit_. Natsuki scowled at her hapless front door before stalking back to the living room and recovering her phone. Two seconds later, she was dialing a familiar number.

"Hey," she said once the call was answered. "It's me. Yeah... Oh, relax, you told Nao to get me to call, and your drink will hold two more minutes." A sigh. "Right, right, so I owe you another one. Whatever." A pause. "Mm, yeah. Listen, I need to talk to you. How's tomorrow?"

She listened to the voice on the other end of the line as she turned off the TV and the lights in her living room. "Sure, seven is good for me. Where?" Soft footsteps padded down the hall. "Yeah, I know the place." The bedroom door closed. "Okay... see you then."

Natsuki hung up the phone and settled on the bed as she set her alarm for the next day. Then she slipped under the covers, turned off the light and resolutely closed her eyes.

Sleep was a long time in coming.


	10. Running at the Speed of Sound

_For Askim._

**Author's Notes:**  
_Infectonator: World Domination_ is ridiculously addicting. Fwoooomph! Aaaah!

Also, if my girl buys me a drum kit for my Xbox when I'm a little under the weather for one day, I have a feeling our back yard's gonna be a petting zoo by the time our first child turns 7.

Moo. Better start stocking up on animal feed. And it's a somewhat short chapter. My apologies.

**EDIT:** What in the world is going on when '-----' is no longer an accepted divider? Really? _Really_?

Thanks for reading.

**A Million Reasons; part X**  
Running at the Speed of Sound

* * *

"_Really, Shi-chan. You lived under my roof for seven years, and not a day went by without you mentioning this young woman at least three times. Now you refuse to ask her along so your old father can at least meet her?_"

"Papa..." Shizuru pinched the bridge of her nose and gave the phone on her desk a look. "As I told you, Natsuki and I had a bit of a... stilted situation between us last night. I don't wish to push her into anything that would make her feel uncomfortable."

"_Oh, pishposh_," came the stern answer. "_You let the young lady make up her own mind about that. From what I was told by you – and that was quite a bit, mind you – Kuga-san is hardly the type of person to agree to something she doesn't want if she can talk her way out of it_."

Well, that was certainly true.

"And if she doesn't wish to come, but agrees anyway?"

"_Then that's no fault of yours, and we'll make her feel as welcome as possible_," her father replied. "_If things really were that troublesome just last night, the two of you could use some time to talk it out, hm?_"

The young CEO stifled a sigh, and her lips shaped a small smile in spite of the situation. Her father had always known exactly what to say to get his way.

"Very well," she confirmed after a moment of consideration. "I'll ask her about it tomorrow."

"_Tomorrow?_" came the curious reply. "_Why not today?_"

"Because shortly after I asked Kina-san to call her, she related to me that Natsuki's phone was off, and her answering message had been changed to saying she was sick."

xXxXx

Natsuki _had_ called in sick to school that morning, but it wasn't exactly due to something so common as the flu, although she figured it wasn't much of an _un_common state, either.

The only thing wrong with her, she considered as she stared at the ceiling in her living room, was a bad case of_ confusa_, otherwise known as a good old dose of confusion so bad, her head was spinning from it.

What in the hell had happened to her last night? Why had her body suddenly reacted so strongly, and to Shizuru, at that?

Natsuki rolled onto her stomach and folded her arms beneath her chin with a long, drawn-out sigh. That made her sneeze, and she made a faint note to herself that the carpet needed vacuuming. Sometime. Right now she had more important things to do.

She could only remember her body reacting to another person once before, and that had been a ripple in the glass compared to the raging white rapids she experienced by being pressed close against Shizuru for 10 seconds or less. The faint tingle from that one time before had probably only been because it had been her first... well. She chuckled. Her first and only _voluntary_ kiss.

Even if they had both been so drunk it was ridiculous, and it had been more of a random 'Oho!' followed by a fit of uproarious giggles and 'We probably shouldn't do that again'. But as far as Natsuki could remember, it had been nice all the same. She hadn't even been worried that she was kissing another girl – alcohol or not.

Was that strange? Her forehead scrunched as she considered the notion, peering contemplatively at the gray carpet. That the first person she'd kissed on – mostly - her own initiative was a girl? Did that make her a lesbian, or could she just chalk it up to drunken stupidity? Or did it mean something the way she'd reacted last night? Furthermore, had she reacted to having a woman that close, or to having _Shizuru_ that close? Would she have felt the same things with a man?

_Maybe. At least as long as it wasn't Takeda_. Natsuki lifted herself onto her elbows and scratched her nose. But she couldn't know for sure without wrestling with a man, and she really had no desire to do that. Maybe that was another clue.

And maybe it wasn't.

She sighed and gave the world outside the window a glance. Part of her wanted to call Shizuru and see if she wanted to go do something since the weather was so nice, but another part – the bigger one – wanted to have this whole mess figured out, preferably _before_ she saw the older woman again. Besides, she had somewhere to be soon.

So what could she do about this without talking to Shizuru, and without being late?

"Not much," she muttered with an unamused half-grin, and rolled onto her back to ponder the mysteries of the ceiling once more.

Well... Natsuki blew out a heavy breath and folded her hands behind her head. She could at least try to figure out if... well, if she was attracted to her old friend. More than just randomly, anyway.

One hand reached out and tugged her mp3-player down from the table, and she popped the earbuds in and closed her eyes, letting the rhythm of some 80's rock calm her mind as she called on an image of Shizuru the teenager.

Ah, there she was. In her regular uniform, once she attained the title of seito kaichou. Natsuki kept her eyes closed to hold the image, and tilted her head as she considered her old friend's former appearance.

She looked cute, for one. There was no denying that, and Natsuki had no trouble admitting to it. She couldn't really find anything about the image – not even the short skirt – that made her feel the way she felt the night before. But that could, of course, be because that would be cradle-snatching at this point in time. At least to her.

_So nothing there,_ she mused, mentally waving the image away, treasured as it was. _Let's try something more recent._

Soon, it was Shizuru the adult that faded into view behind her eyelids, both in her power suit and in the more casual clothes.

_God, two of her!_ The thought made her snicker. _I'd never hear the end of anything, if that was the case._ But she pushed her amusement aside and concentrated, studying both versions of her friend with a critical eye. Shizuru was gorgeous, no question, and certainly attractive. But was _she_ attracted to her?

Natsuki cleared her throat and felt her face heat up as she tried to image kissing the young CEO. A light peck just made her blush intensify, which was hardly surprising, and she opened her eyes with a sigh at the lack of results.

_That's no use_, she thought sourly. _Even a kiss like that can be accepted between close friends, for God's sake!_ Which meant that she had to picture something more involved. Like the way she'd kissed... _oh lord._

That... had certainly been involved, and even now, Natsuki had no clue what in the world had possessed her to just drape herself over the other woman like that. _Jesus_. She scrubbed a hand over her face and sighed for the nth time. _I guess I'll at least have to try._

So she closed her eyes again, and tried pulling the flashes of that night back into her mind. Flashing lights, absurdly loud music and a very strong taste of liquor at the back of her throat were the first to arrive, followed by a longer reel of a smooth face with large, smiling eyes surrounded by semi-short, platinum hair.

She had tilted her head and thought, as much as she was capable of at that level of intoxication, then gotten to her wobbly feet and caught her friend's face firmly in her own hands before planting her own lips over the blonde's. The other woman had responded, and Natsuki had been in her lap by the time they broke apart.

Then they'd both gone bright red and started laughing helplessly.

Now, Natsuki girded her mental loins and replaced a table at some random nightclub with the couch at Shizuru's house. She forced herself to ignore the incredible heat in her face and focused, picturing the two of them sitting there together. They made eye-contact and stayed like that, then she started leaning in and Shizuru followed.

When their lips met in her head, Natsuki felt herself gasp in reality, but she stayed in her made-up situation, her hands twitching beneath her head as she slowly tasted Shizuru's lips, then her tongue, and then felt a warm body settle against her.

The second that she placed a hand on Shizuru's thigh and kept it there, her eyes flew open to see only the white of her ceiling, and she spent a few minutes evening her breathing out, staring unblinkingly as her head spun all over again.

"Shit," she then cursed softly. "I am."

The remaining question was then: Now what?

Okay, so she wanted to kiss Shizuru. Natsuki growled at the blush that didn't seem to want to leave her face. And maybe do... other stuff, too. The issue was whether or not she should do anything about it, especially since she had never really gotten the feeling that Shizuru was completely over her. That might be wrong, of course, but if she was right and she made a move.... well, then what would that do?

_Probably push her away, or at least really hurt her._ She sat up with a sigh. And _that really _wasn't what she wanted to accomplish.

Of course, it was also possible that her body was just confused, she considered, getting to her feet and giving the clock a glance. That it was just mistaking someone she'd_ missed_ with someone she _wanted_. That was, after all what had happened last time, she remembered as she found her shoes and sat down to slip them on.

The music playing in her ears caught her attention again as she tucked a light leather jacket over one arm, and she listened idly as she put the garment fully on and zipped it up.

_Oh, you're a loaded gun  
Oh, there's nowhere to run  
No one can save me, the damage is done_

Natsuki growled. "Don't help," she sourly told the gadget before turning it off, settling it on a random flat surface before closing the door behind her.

She tugged her riding gloves into place as she trudged down the stairs, her helmet tucked safely in the crook of her arm and a thousand things still running through her head. They hadn't stopped by the time she was settling the helmet on her head and herself on the bike, and she really hoped the sound of the potent engine would drown the whole mess out for a while.

xXxXx

It was exactly five to seven when she parked the Ducati outside her current watering hole, The Ale Room. As the name indicated, it was a place specializing primarily in a large variety of beers, though they also served regular alcohol to draw in more customers. Natsuki preferred beer herself, though she could be persuaded to drink sake or wine every now and then. Vodka, rum and the like were hardly her favorites, but since Kaori preferred them, they usually compromised by meeting here, or at a place similar to it.

She made sure the bike was probably secured before leaving it, and entered the building with her helmet in hand, nodding to the doormen whose faces she vaguely recognized.

The room was dim, as always, but the color of her friend's hair resembled that of cut silver in this type of light, and shimmered just as much. And true to form, it only took her about 15 seconds to spot her.

Kaori was a bit older than her at 27, but – much like Midori – she refused to admit it. When asked three years ago, she'd been twenty. Now, she'd say 25, much to Natsuki amusement.

They'd met the year Natsuki had started college, on a night where she'd been royally pissed at one of her professors and had taken her old bike out for a ride that was significantly faster than the law allowed. Then-sergeant Yuuki Kaori – newly transferred to the Fuka police force from Yokohama - had been the one to pull her over, lock her up in the cruiser for a few hours and give her an earful so efficient that Natsuki had actually felt guilty. At least for the rest of the night.

Two weeks later, the same thing happened all over again. And it had kept happening at semi-regular intervals for a year, the earfuls being slowly replaced by amicable conversations until they'd eventually become friends. Much to Nao's surprise and chagrin when she came to meet her cousin for lunch, and had found them chatting. That had certainly been entertaining.

She waited until she caught Kaori's eye and returned the friendly grin, then pointed to the bar to explain that she was going to get a drink before sitting down. That got her a nod, as well as an imitated drink held to the blonde's mouth and gulped down, followed by swaying.

_Idiot._ Natsuki rolled her eyes and started threading her way between tables and chairs. _Not tonight. I'm driving, and I'm not leaving my bike here._

At the bar, she secured herself a Sapporo Reserve in short order, and made her way to the table Kaori had parked herself at. She gave her fiend a whap to the back of the head by way of greeting, and then slid into a seat across from her.

"You know…" the lime-green eyes glowered at her as Kaori ran her fingers though her almost chin-length hair to re-rumple it properly. "I could probably have you arrested for assaulting an officer right now."

"Well, excuse me, _lieutenant_," Natsuki replied, opening her can of beer with a hiss and a smirk. "At least you aren't on duty."

"I could be in 20 seconds, but then we'd both be in trouble." The other woman lifted her glass in explanation. "So I'm letting you off the hook this time."

Natsuki snorted. "And every time after this," she added, taking a sip of the cold beer and letting it slide down her throat. "As long as I catch you in a bar."

"This is true." Kaori smirked and took a sip through the straw in her glass. "Guess what I'm having?"

"Oh, _hell_ no!" The younger woman leaned back and wagged a finger at her. "Not on your goddamn life, lady. Last time you did that, I asked, you answered and I spit beer all over you."

"Oh, so you did." The blonde snickered. "But it's hardly my fault you didn't know there was a drink called Anal Sex. And on the subject, you still owe me the money for dry-cleaning my clothes."

"Go piss up a tree. It was your own damn fault."

"Says you."

"Says I." Natsuki eyed her friend for a few moments, and eventually gave in. "Alright, then. What are you having?"

Kaori smiled. "A Dickhead's Delight."

"Fitting."

"Fuck you."

"You wish."

To an outside observer, the two of them seemed to be bickering as bad as Natsuki and Nao normally did. But if you were to look a little closer, the tiny smiles of amusement would be visible, and make it clear that all they really were doing was picking on each other, the way that friends sometimes do.

They mock-glared at each other for a few more seconds, then Natsuki smirked and brought her beer to her lips again, while Kaori sucked on her straw.

"So." The blonde licked a few drops from her lips and quirked an eyebrow at the younger woman. "What has your knickers in so bad a twist that you had to talk to me ASAP?"

Natsuki pulled a face. "Bah." A low sigh. "First off," she said, the tone of her voice dipping into a much more serious range. "This goes no further than us, okay?"

"Sure." Kaori shrugged. "Not like I've blabbed to anybody in the past, right?"

"True." The younger woman looked around to make sure nobody was listening, then leaned in a little closer and lowered her voice. "Well, I… I kinda found myself with a problem last night."

"That so?" Kaori leaned closer herself, matched Natsuki's posture with her arms folded, leaning on the table with her elbows. "And what kinda trouble was that?"

"Um…" Natsuki looked down and blushed faintly, though it was hard to see in the low lighting. "I told you that my boss and I we… we get along pretty well. Right?"

"Yeah, sure." The pale eyebrows lowered in a frown. "Natsuki, what's wrong? You'd think that you'd run headfirst into a ghost."

"Not hardly." She snorted derisively. "But I did have a pretty brutal run-in with my sex-drive."

"You?!" Kaori stared at her in shock. "_You_ got hot?!"

Natsuki cringed at clapped a hand over her friend's mouth. "Goddamn it, try again a little louder, you moron!" she hissed agitatedly. "I don't think they heard you in fucking _Moscow_ last time!"

Two hands raised and waved silently, palm out, and Natsuki removed her own, though the glare stayed.

"Sorry, sorry." Kaori kept her voice down now. "But shit, Kid, you gotta allow me to be shocked to hear that. I've spent years thinking that you didn't even _feel _desire!"

"Welcome to the damn club," came the answering growl. "But apparently I do, I did and from that point the whole night just went to hell."

"I woulda thought it'd been looking up," the blonde mused philosophically.

Natsuki resisted the impulse to thump her head against the table. "Not in a state of panic, no." She tapped her friend's glass with one finger. "Drink some more, it tends to make you smarter."

"Kiss my ass," Kaori snarked, but did it anyway. "Panic over you never feeling it before, or over who it happened with?" A pause. "And what the hell were you doing, anyway?"

"Yes. No. Both." Natsuki sighed. "I don't know. We we're just playing around, she was tickling me, we ended up on the floor and suddenly…"

"…the Hormone Train arrived," her friend finished for her. "Christ, how do you get yourself into these situations?"

"Fuck if I know." She rested her forehead on her crosses arms and sighed. "And now I just don't know what to do. I was freaking out the rest of the night, she noticed, and she left so I'm pretty sure I made her feel bad," she explained quietly. "Earlier I tried to figure out if I'm attracted to her, and I am." A small, joyless chuckle. "So maybe I'm gay, but even if I am, it's not like I can do anything about wanting her. Fun, huh?"

"Oh, come on, Natsuki." Kaori rolled her eyes and ruffled the dark hair gently. "Being attracted to one woman doesn't make you a lesbian."

"Two women," came the grumpy, somewhat muffled correction.

"I told you, I don't count." Her tablemate removed the straw from her drink and sucked the end of it clean. "And regardless, that doesn't make you any more gay than you'da been straight by locking lips with a man."

Natsuki sat up with a heavy exhale, and collected her beer only to start nursing it sourly. "Then what the hell am I?"

The blonde bit the rim of her glass and grinned. "Horny?"

"Fuck you."

"While that _should_ solve the problem, I'm not that drunk." Kaori waved the straw at her. "And neither are you." She met the glowering emerald eyes for a few seconds, then shook her head and swirled the straw around the remainder of her drink. "Seriously - what are you so worked up over? Lots of people have the hots for their boss."

Natsuki sighed and took a healthy sip from her large, silver can. "I'm worked up because my _boss_ also happens to be a very old _friend_ of mine," she explained. "And because I – out of the damn blue! - want her so friggin' bad that I can't think straight, but I also _care_ about her and don't want to do anything stupid." She clenched her hands into fists. "So if I did something, which, _God_, I want to… but what if she suddenly wanted more?"

"More?" Kaori frowned and pushed a lock of pale hair out of her eyes. "Look, kiddo, just because your motor started running once when the two of you were horsing around doesn't mean you actually have deeper feelings for her. Stick to worrying about wanting her for now, alright? Besides, there's every possibility that even the whole 'wanting her' thing is nothing but a fluke."

Natsuki rubbed her forehead. "I don't think it is," she related quietly. "I doubt I'd have been able to recreate the exact same thing just by thinking about kissing her earlier."

"Okay, point for you, but look..." The blonde tapped one manicured nail against the table. "You're worrying too much. The stupidest thing you can do is to make a mountain out of a molehill and worry about an actual love-affair when you only have ants in your pants. Give it some time for now. Try to figure out – without saying anything – if she's interested or not. If she isn't – you focus on something else and move past it. Lust isn't that hard to get over." Kaori grinned. "I should know."

"I bet, the way you looked me over the first time you caught me." Natsuki shook her head. "Pervert. But what if it looks like she _is_ interested?"

"Then you take it from there and weigh the pros and cons." Kaori chewed the end of her straw and peered calmly at her. "And decide if you want to go for it or not."

"Mmf." Natsuki bent her neck and frowned. "I guess it doesn't help that I feel guilty. About what happened last night, I mean. I know she was way gone for me when we were teenagers, but I turned her down and now..."

"And now you're an adult and from what Nao grudgingly tells me, in many ways a different person." Two fingers grabbed playfully at her chin. "Don't beat yourself up just because you might do something else now."

"Get off." Natsuki batted the offending hand away and gave the other woman a look. "So basically 'don't live in the past'?"

"Exactly. And you owe me a drink." Kaori gave her a wink. "I'll have a _Between the Sheets_."

The emerald eyes narrowed in a glare, but Natsuki rose anyway. "You are such an asshole."

"Oh, I know." The blonde grinned cheekily and waggled her fingers at her. "But I still want my drink. With peach brandy, please."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."


End file.
